Pink Floyd star David Gilmour’s guitar collection has fetched nearly £17 million (21,490,750 US dollars) after going under the hammer.
The 73-year-old musician sold more than 120 instruments from his career, raising money for a climate change charity.
His 1969 Black Fender Stratocaster, used on albums The Wall, Wish You Were Here, and Dark Side Of The Moon, was snapped up for more than £3.1 million (3,975,000 US dollars), setting a world auction record for any guitar.
The David Gilmour Guitar Collection totaled US$21,490,750, with all the proceeds benefiting @ClientEarth. Thank you to all the fans today for an incredible 8-hour auction with bidders from 66 countries around the world! https://t.co/zHpdOCP6TU pic.twitter.com/aQDSHFyFZU
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) June 20, 2019
Christie’s said the New York event was now the most valuable sale of musical instruments in auction history, beating a previous record held by Eric Clapton.
Gilmour raised funds for ClientEarth, a “charity that uses the power of the law to protect the planet”.
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”, he said.
“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 civilisation, 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.
The legendary Black Strat achieves $3,975,000, establishing a new #WorldAuctionRecord for any guitar sold at auction #GilmourGuitars https://t.co/pVR93GBhFz pic.twitter.com/Hs0He9TMIn
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) June 20, 2019
“We need a civilised world that goes on for all our grandchildren and beyond in which these guitars can be played and songs can be sung.”
Top lots included Gilmour’s 1954 White Fender Stratocaster, used on Another Brick In The Wall, which sold for £1.43 million (1,815,000 US dollars).
Christie’s said it delayed the start of the sale by one hour “to accommodate the unprecedented number of bidders who queued around the block in Rockefeller Center to witness auction history”.