A donation of 500 guitars to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in May 2025, announced via a profile in The New Yorker, has become embroiled in controversy. Mick Taylor, former guitarist for the Rolling Stones, claims through his manager that one of the donated guitars—a Les Paul stolen from the band's French villa in 1971—is his property. The Met initially declined to comment, but later told The New York Times that Taylor played the guitar but never owned it, asserting a well-documented ownership history. The guitars were donated by collector Dirk Ziff, and the museum plans to open a permanent American guitar gallery in 2027.
This dispute matters because it raises questions about provenance and due diligence in major museum acquisitions, especially for high-profile donations involving iconic musicians. The conflicting claims—Taylor's assertion of theft versus the Met's denial—highlight the challenges museums face in verifying ownership histories, particularly for instruments with decades of use and multiple owners. The outcome could affect the museum's reputation and the planned guitar gallery, as well as set a precedent for handling contested donations in the art and cultural heritage world.