JIM IRSAY COLLECTION
The acquisition that holds the fondest memory for me is David Gilmour’ s 1969 Fender Stratocaster— The Black Strat.
Christie’ s announced it would auction David Gilmour’ s most iconic guitars from his personal collection on June 20, 2019, in New York City— coincidentally, Eric’ s and my 50th birthday. Given Jim’ s deep love of Pink Floyd, it was a foregone conclusion that we would aggressively pursue several guitars from the Gilmour Collection. Gilmour’ s legendary guitar technician Phil Taylor provided impeccable provenance for each instrument in the auction.
In May 2019, a month before the sale, I traveled to New York with Larry Hall, Chairman of the Collection, to evaluate the guitars at Christie’ s Long Island City warehouse in Queens. Prior to the visit, we met with Kerry Keane at Christie’ s headquarters at 20 Rockefeller Plaza. Keane was Christie’ s guitar curator and had overseen the historic Eric Clapton auction benefiting Crossroads, Clapton’ s rehabilitation center.
When we arrived at the warehouse, nearly 150 guitar cases were laid out before us. I had the surreal experience of playing some of David Gilmour’ s most treasured instruments. Beyond The Black Strat, I also played both C. F. Martin & Co. acoustic guitars used on Wish You Were Here, as well as a 1954 Fender Stratocaster( serial number 0001) and a 1955 Gibson Les Paul, both used on Another Brick in the Wall( Part 2). As I played classic Pink Floyd riffs, I joked that they sounded just like the record— but in truth, every instrument has its own unique timbre, and playing the exact guitars used on those recordings unmistakably evokes the tones etched into our collective memory.
On June 20, 2019, at Christie’ s, Jim Irsay acquired David Gilmour’ s legendary The Black Strat for $ 3.975 million, setting a record at the time as the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction. The acquisition also included Gilmour’ s 1969 C. F. Martin & Co. D-35— famously played on Wish You Were Here— along with the original flight case for the Black Strat, stenciled“ PINK FLOYD LONDON.” In a fitting final gesture, all proceeds from the auction were donated to ClientEarth, the nonprofit organization dedicated to combating climate change.
These historic instruments were proudly showcased at exhibitions and concerts in Indianapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, Washington, D. C., Austin, New York City, San Francisco, Boston, and Las Vegas— bringing Jim’ s vision and passion to audiences across the country and around the world.
We feel incredibly honored to have been entrusted with the care of the guitars in the Jim Irsay Collection. Whether playing Jerry Garcia’ s Tiger or Bob Dylan’ s“ Newport” Stratocaster, it was always magical to hold and hear instruments that changed the world.
My most lasting memory, however, is the friendship I was fortunate enough to develop with Jim. It is a friendship I will always cherish. He is deeply missed.
To learn more and follow the auctions, visit: The Jim Irsay Collection | Auction Series | Christie’ s
44 | SPRING 2026