A high school pep rally in a gymnasium; a smoky atmosphere; and a band that was about to set the tone for an entire generation. Kurt Cobain, sporting bleach blonde shoulder-length hair and wielding his left-handed blue Fender Mustang changed the music industry forever. That same guitar now keeps company in The Jim Irsay Collection with other instruments of cultural impact once played by The Beatles, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Jerry Garcia, Kurt Cobain, Sir Elton John, Prince, Johnny Cash, Janis Joplin, John Coltrane and Miles Davis.
Assembled with passion over decades by the late Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, the collection’s comprehensive holdings of Americana and memorabilia extends beyond music to items associated with some of the most significant people, literature and events of recent history: original manuscripts by Jack Kerouac, Jim Morrison, Sylvester Stallone and Steve Jobs; and legendary sporting artefacts linked to Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, Wayne Gretzky and even Secretariat. Many are already recognized for their cultural import: pieces have been exhibited at museums including the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the British Library, the Museum of Popular Culture and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Instruments and other iconic items of memorabilia recalling generational touchstones of cultural history will be on view when an unparalleled selection from the collection debuts in The Jim Irsay Collection: Hall of Fame on 12 March 2026 at Christie’s in New York, kicking off a series of sales dedicated to talismans of the 20th century.