Lightfoot’s instruments, artwork and outfits are up for auction

Dozens of Gordon Lightfoot’s personal belongings – including guitars, artwork and even his highest awards – are up for grabs at an auction that has some fans wondering why the items haven’t been rescued by a museum.

Texas-based Heritage Auctions is leading the sale of the artifacts in partnership with Lightfoot’s estate. The auction is currently being held online and will conclude with an in-person ceremony on November 17, the late musician’s birthday.

Among the items up for auction are nine artist-signed paintings inspired by “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” that hung in Lightfoot’s living room, and a Rand McNally map of the United States showing tour stops that the singer-songwriter also in his home.

There is a range of Lightfoot’s most recognizable outfits, a selection of his amplifiers, his Canada’s Walk of Fame trophy and his Songwriters Hall of Fame award presented to him in 2012 by Steve Miller.

Some guitars at the auction are particularly important.

His 1967 Gibson B45-12 Sunburst acoustic guitar will be familiar to fans, as it appeared alongside Lightfoot on the cover of his 1974 album “Sundown” and was used in other photo shoots. The auction house calls it “an essential part of Lightfoot’s musical journey.”

His 1975 Ed McGlincy acoustic guitar is described by famed luthier Ed McGlincy as “probably a one-off custom piece” that Lightfoot brought on tour. Evidence of its use can be found in the remains of the tape on the back, where he probably posted his set lists or lyrics during his concerts.

Some fans took to Lightfoot’s Facebook page to criticize the auction, saying the estate should have worked with Canadian cultural institutions to protect items that belonged to such a historically important singer-songwriter.

Requests for comment from members of Lightfoot’s estate were not returned.

Garry Shrum, the director of music memorabilia at Heritage Auctions who handles the sale of items related to the Beatles, Elvis and Nirvana, said it is common for fans to get excited at the auction of items from their favorite artist.

“I understand that very much,” he said.

“We have museums bidding on our auctions, and we have people bidding on things and lending them to a museum. Those kinds of things happen all the time.”

Shrum suggested that fans who feel conflicted about the auction should consider checking out the items on the website.

After Lightfoot died last year at the age of 84, there was a flurry of attempts to cement his Canadian legacy, such as naming public spaces after him or organizing events in his honor, but many never materialized.

Lightfoot’s friend and former manager Bernie Fiedler has said the Lightfoot estate barred him from involvement in a Massey Hall tribute concert earlier this year.

And efforts in Lightfoot’s hometown of Orillia, Ont. Considerations for a museum dedicated to the musician also appear to have come to a standstill.

The city council has set up a working group to consult with the estate on memorabilia to display, and although an extension of the mandate was approved last fall, no announcements have been made.

Shrum said he was most surprised by the sheer amount of items available for the Lightfoot Collection when he visited the late singer-songwriter’s home shortly after his death.

“It looked like a museum,” he said of the mansion in Toronto’s affluent Bridle Path neighborhood.

“Gordon had all the walls decorated with all his history.”

“Good for him for not throwing this stuff away like a lot of people do,” he added.

A second auction of Lightfoot’s ‘knickknacks’, mainly jewelry, photos and prizes, will go live in mid-November and close on December 7.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2024.

David Friend, The Canadian Press