The auction of more than 120 guitars from the personal collection of David Gilmour of Pink Floyd set new world records during a June 20 auction at Christie’s in New York.
The rare event attracted interest by 2,000 bidders from 66 countries, with the highest being the $3.9 million paid for Gilmour’s 'Black Strat' Fender Stratocaster, which delivered a world auction record for any guitar while the collection itself achieved a final total of $21,490,750.
Among the highlights were Gilmour’s acoustic Martin D-35, which sold for $1,095,000 – a new world auction record for a C.F. Martin guitar; a 1954 White Fender Stratocaster #0001 used on several recordings, including “Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)”, which sold for $1,815,000; a 1955 Gibson Les Paul, also famous for the solo on “Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)”, sold for $447,000, a new auction record for a Gibson Les Paul; and, a rare Gretsch White Penguin 6134 purchased by David in 1980 went for $447,000 – a new auction record for a Gretsch.
Christie's declared all to be "world musical instruments auction records".
“I am pleased to announce that all the proceeds from the #GilmourGuitars Sale at Christie’s in New York will be donated to the charity ClientEarth,” says Gilmour. “The global climate crisis is the greatest challenge that humanity will ever face, and we are within a few years of the effects of global warming being irreversible.
“As Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist said in a speech earlier this year, ‘Either we choose to go on as a civilization, or we don’t’. The choice really is that simple, and I hope that the sale of these guitars will help ClientEarth in their cause to use the law to bring about real change.
“We need a civilized world that goes on for all our grandchildren and beyond in which these guitars can be played and songs can be sung.”
"This is a truly humbling and extraordinary gift, which goes beyond our wildest expectations,” adds ClientEarth CEO James Thornton. “It's difficult to express just how deeply grateful we are to David for choosing ClientEarth as the beneficiary of this historic auction. The law is one of the most powerful tools we have to tackle the world's increasing environmental problems.
“This gift is a phenomenal boost to our work using the law to tackle climate change and protect nature. It will allow us to play an even greater role in addressing the climate crisis and securing a healthy planet for future generations."
For more information on the charity, visit clientearth.org.
In the months leading up to the auction, over 12,000 fans booked hour-long time slots at the preview tour stops in London, Los Angeles and New York to see the guitars in person. More than 500,000 people viewed the content of the sale on Christies.com, while the start of the sale had to be delayed for an hour to accommodate the unprecedented number of bidders who queued around the block to attend.
Gilmour is sharing video footage of the bidding and sale of the famed 'Black Strat' Fender Stratocaster from the Christie’s event.
See also:
Pink Floyd: David Gilmour streams final episode in guitar auction podcast series
VIDEO: Pink Floyd stream 1969 performance of Careful With That Axe, Eugene
Pink Floyd: David Gilmour streams second episode in guitar auction podcast series
VIDEO: Pink Floyd stream 1969 performance of A Saucerful Of Secrets
Search Pink Floyd at hennemusic
