Rolling Stones Guitar Sparks Ownership Dispute With the Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is fending off claims from former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, who says the museum is displaying his long-lost 1959 Gibson Les Paul. The storied guitar—famous for its sunburst finish and ties to Keith Richards, hence the instrument's nickname, the "Keithburst"—has been tracked by collectors for years and played by the likes of Eric Clapton. In a recent statement, Taylor's manager said the guitarist was surprised to see the instrument in the Met's collection, insisting it vanished after Taylor's stint with the Stones in the early 1970s, per the New York Times. "There are numerous photos of Mick Taylor playing this Les Paul, as it was his main guitar until it disappeared," Marlies Damming says, per the New York Post.

The Met, however, disputes Taylor's narrative, saying their records show a clear ownership trail dating back decades. After Richards played the guitar during the Stones' 1964 US debut on Ed Sullivan's program, it changed hands several times and was featured in a Met exhibition in 2019. The museum says Taylor played the guitar but never owned it, and that no claim from Taylor surfaced during its recent high-profile appearances. The provenance, however, isn't completely airtight—it's unclear how one past owner acquired the guitar, for instance. Taylor's camp has requested an inspection to settle the matter.