Few guitarists have such an eclectic and knowing eye for guitars as Mark Knopfler. This January, the Dire Straits legend is putting many of his most famous instruments up for sale in the name of charity. We take a look at some of the most storied, rare and collectible guitars going under the hammer
Some guitarists, such as Brian May, are forever associated with a single guitar. Others, such as Mark Knopfler, have browsed through a century and more of the luthier’s craft to track down unique sounds. During the course of his 50-year career, Mark has used everything from Les Paul reissues to jazz-era D’Angelico archtops to create ageless tracks such as Money For Nothing and Brothers In Arms, and Mark’s thick catalogue of solo albums such as Tracker, Get Lucky, Down The Road Wherever and more. In the process, he built up one of the most enviable collections of recording instruments you’ll find.
So it’s all the more remarkable that he’s now putting 120 of these guitars and amps, including those used on some of his most famous work, up for auction at Christie’s in London on 31 January. We catch up with Kerry Keane, Christie’s vintage guitar expert –who also inspected and prepared David Gilmour’s guitars for sale in 2019 – to talk about some of the highlights of the upcoming sale.
What does this sale represent in terms of Mark Knopfler’s relationship with the guitar?
“I’m a bit of a guitar nerd and I find guitars wonderful to look at as icons of the stylistic time period they were made in. But at the same time, they are static items until they’re put into the lap of an artist, a guitarist, and then they fully fulfil their mission. There are 123 lots in this sale and the vast majority of them are guitars. And, for me, they illustrate the musical journey of one of popular music’s greatest artists, from his youngest influences as a guitarist to a performer and now a composer today.”
There’s a wide range of guitars in the sale, but some, like the 1988 Pensa-Suhr custom, are indelibly associated with Mark’s time in Di
