US EditionMissing Rolling Stones Guitar Resurfaces in New York Museum 50 Years After It Was Stolen
NEW YORK CITY, JUL 14 – The stolen 1959 Gibson Les Paul, played by Mick Taylor and others, was part of a 500-guitar donation to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, revealed in May 2025.
- In May, the 1959 sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard stolen in 1972 at Villa Nellcôte surfaced among over 500 guitars donated to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Owed a debt to Richards, local drug dealers orchestrated the 1972 break-in at Villa Nellcôte, stealing nine guitars including the Les Paul Taylor had bought in 1967.
- The instrument’s `flaming` body pattern, Marlies Damming said, proves it’s Taylor’s missing guitar, and it had been played by Richards as well as Page and Clapton.
- The Met’s new exhibition of guitars became the center of international intrigue, with Jayson Dobney admitting `I had no idea what was actually there` and Mick Taylor saying he received no compensation and remains mystified how it reached the museum.
- Last month, it was reported that the collection has been assembled since 1987 to preserve culturally significant American guitars, and Dirk Ziff said the collection has been assembled since 1987 to preserve historic American guitars.
32 Articles
32 Articles
A guitar stolen during the recording of the Rolling Stones' album "Exile on Main St." in 1971 has been found in a guitar collection recently acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
A guitar stolen during the recording of the Rolling Stones' album "Exile on Main St." in 1971 has been found in a guitar collection recently acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Stolen Rolling Stones Guitar Resurfaces at New York Museum After 54 Years
A guitar stolen from The Rolling Stones more than 50 years ago has resurfaced in a collection recently acquired by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. The instrument in question is a 1959 sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard, which – at the time of the burglary – had been owned by former guitarist Mick Taylor, who had previously purchased it from Keith Richards in 1967. At the time of its theft, the instrument had already been part of mus…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 69% of the sources are Center
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
