TORONTO — Gordon Lightfoot's treasured "Sundown" guitar will remain in Canadian hands after it sold for US$350,000 in an estate auction over the weekend.
Heritage Auctions says the legendary folk singer-songwriter's 1967 Gibson B45-12 Sunburst acoustic guitar, which appeared beside him on the cover of his 1974 album "Sundown," was the top-selling item at the public event after a prolonged bidding war.
Music memorabilia director Garry Shrum says the guitar was sold to a man sent to the Dallas-based auction on behalf of several Canadian collectors.
"We're especially pleased the guitar will remain in Canada, where Gordon is revered as a national treasure," he added in a statement.
Lightfoot's Gibson was one of his favourites on stage and used to compose “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” and “If You Could Read My Mind.”
Dozens of Lightfoot's personal belongings were auctioned off at the event, including photographs, outfits and some of his highest awards. The sale attracted negative feedback from some Lightfoot fans who suggested the items should've been donated by the estate to a Canadian museum.
The auction ran for several weeks online and Heritage Auctions finished with an in-person bidding event on Sunday. The slate of items pulled in a total of $1.3 million with more than 1,250 bidders who participated worldwide.
Most of the hottest items were Lightfoot's guitars with four others raking in a range of $30,000 to nearly $94,000 each.
Shrum noted that a small, beat-up wooden desk that Lightfoot often carried with him to write songs drew outsized interest. It sold for $16,250.
More than 40 lots of Lightfoot's belongings are part of Heritage Auctions' entertainment and music memorabilia showcase, including a gold-certified sales award given to Lightfoot for his "Sundown" album by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Bids are now open for the auction that winds up with another in-person event on Dec. 8 and 9.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2024.
David Friend, The Canadian Press
