The Met and the MoMA Tune Up with Guitar-Focused Exhibitions

By Reena Jana
March 7, 2011

Usually, when you hear New Yorkers using “The Met” and “guitars” in the same sentence, it’s in the context of the Metropolitan Opera, not the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Likewise, when you hear "guitars" paired with "MoMA," it's a reference to a Picasso, not a concert. But this spring, both of these unlikely scenarios are major events on the city's cultural calendar: The Metropolitan Museum of Art is presenting the exhibition “Guitar Heroes” (through July 4), and the Museum of Modern Art is offering “Picasso: Guitars 1912-14” (through June 6)—an homage to the artist, yes, but with a live music series to accompany it. Both New York City art exhibits focus on the theme of the guitars as works of art, in both the literal and figurative senses.

The New York City art exhibits are unrelated, although they clearly share a theme and an unusual appeal to aspiring rock stars and art historians alike. Both NYC exhibits have been drawing rave reviews and large crowds. And both feature exquisite instruments and inspiring interpretations of guitar art.

“Guitars are nearly universally understood objects, and almost everyone has some kind of experience with them. They are instruments that can be very personal and intimate, or they can be experienced along with great masses of people,” says Jayson Kerr Dobney, an associate curator in the Metropolitan Museum’s Department of Musical Instruments and the organizer of the “Guitar Heroes” show. “Nearly every genre of music has a guitar of some sort associated with it. All of this contributes to the perception of the instrument as a powerful iconic symbol.”

The “Guitar Heroes” art exhibit at The Met in NYC features 80 objects, and the art exhibit focuses on the work of three master guitar makers, John D'Angelico (1905-1964), James D'Aquisto (1935-1995), and John Monteleone (b. 1947). The guitar art exhibition follows these artisans’ careers in the context of the tradition of stringed-instrument making by Italian-Americans in the New York City Area over the last century. The show also traces the practice back to Italy, where earlier generations of craftspeople created gorgeous mandolins and violins long before jazz greats and rock stars wielded guitars. Music fans will delight knowing that many of the contemporary guitars on view once belonged to (or at least were played) by famous musicians such as Paul Simon.

"Guitar Heroes" at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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John Monteleone (born 1947). The Four Seasons guitars, 2002-2005. Islip, New York. Private Collection, USA
Photo © Archtop History, Inc. from the book ARCHTOP GUITARS: The Journey from Cremona to New York by Rudy Pensa and Vincent Ricardel.
Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) "The Rawlins" guitar, 1700, Cremona, Italy
Lent by the National Music Museum, The University of South Dakota, Vermillion
Photo by Bill Willroth, Sr.

The famed luthier (stringed instrument maker) Antonio Stradivari built a handful of guitars, of which four are known to survive. Stradivari's guitars are the earliest known guitars that use the same basic wood choices of spruce for the top and maple for the sides and backs.
Musician Steve Miller with his D'Aquisto double cutaway Electric Centura model guitar.

Photograph from Archtop History, Inc. from the book ARCHTOP GUITARS: The Journey from Cremona to New York by Rudy Pensa and Vincent Ricardel.
John Monteleone (born 1947) Grand Artist Tri Port archtop guitar (serial number 185), 1999. Islip, New York. Private collection
Photograph from Archtop History, Inc. from the book ARCHTOP GUITARS: The Journey from Cremona to New York by Rudy Pensa and Vincent Ricardel.

The luthier (stringed instrument maker) John Monteleone first began building his reputation by building archtop mandolins for folk musicians in the 1970s.
Luigi Mozzani (Italian, 1869-1943) Chitarra-lyra (harp guitar), ca. 1915, Cento, Italy. Spruce, ebony, maple; L. 33 in. (83.8 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Purchase, The Jonathan & Faye Kellerman Foundation Gift, 2008. (2008.356)
James D'Aquisto (1935-1995) Teardrop Solo Special model archtop guitar(serial number 1246), 1993
Greenport, New York
Private collection. Photograph from Archtop History, Inc. from the book ARCHTOP GUITARS: The Journey from Cremona to New York by Rudy Pensa and Vincent Ricardel.

In 1957, the New York musician Pete Girardi ordered a custom made instrument from the maker John D'Angelico and the result was an unusual shaped archtop guitar with a "fin."
James D'Aquisto (1935-1995) New Yorker Special Oval Hole model archtop guitar (serial number 1090), 1975. Greenport, New York. Lent by Paul Simon

This guitar was built for the musician Paul Simon and has an oval sound hole like traditional flat top guitars that are more associated with the artist. The instrument bears Paul Simon's name on the headstock.

Dobney believes this Met exhibition will surprise visitors “because they will realize what wonderful pieces of sculptural beauty many of these pieces are to look at,” he says.

Even if you can’t make it to New York, the Met’s website and an iPhone app (the museum’s first!) features videos and texts by experts about the guitars on view as well as performances by master guitarists using the instruments.

Further downtown, MoMA presents “Picasso: Guitars 1912-14,” which was organized by MoMA curator Anne Umland, with Blair Hartzell, a Curatorial Assistant in the Department of Painting & Sculpture This New York City art exhibit, featuring 70 pieces, focuses on Pablo Picasso’s experiments with representing the guitar in bold, sculptural artistic forms. In late 1912, he created a playful facsimile of a guitar by cutting, folding, and gluing together materials such as paper and string. Two years later, he re-made this guitar sculpture in metal, its pieces held together not by traditional welding, but instead by wire fastened as if were rope. And later in his life, he gave both sculptures to MoMA. Art historians believe that these two pieces are historically significant because the world had never seen these types of sculptures before, made with such humble materials and inventive, non-realistic shapes.

“Many people know Picasso as one of the greatest painters of the twentieth century," Blair Hartzell, one of the MoMA art exhibit's two organizers, said. "This exhibition highlights the remarkable things he could do with simply a pair of scissors. Visitors—whether they are new to the artist and this period in his career or devoted Picasso followers—will be surprised by how materially, technically, and conceptually complex the paintings, constructions, drawings, collages, and photographs assembled for the show are when enjoyed in person.”

And MoMA NYC is also celebrated the guitar art of the guitar beyond Picasso’s sculptures, with live performances in the museum’s theater by innovative musicians.

"Picasso: Guitars 1912-14" at the Museum of Modern Art

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Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973)
Violin Hanging on the Wall. Possibly begun Sorgues, summer 1912, completed Paris, early 1913
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973)
Bottle, Guitar, and Pipe. Paris, autumn 1912
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973)
Guitar. Céret, March 31, 1913, or later
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973)
Guitar. Paris, October-December 1912
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973)
Guitar. Paris, December 1912 or later

“MoMA’s dynamic public programming works to bring in diverse audiences. While Picasso couldn’t play a guitar, to complement a special exhibition like 'Picasso: Guitars 1912-1914,' we wanted to bring together musicians who had, like Picasso, a unique approach to their instruments,” Hartzell explains.

On eBay auctions, online sales for guitar-related items are up 26 percent in a 30 day period (1/27-2/25) compared to six months prior. While the bulk of the 430,000 current online auction listings includes affordable instruments, music and equipment, serious collectors can find elegant instruments by the three “guitar heroes” whose work is on view at the Met in NYC, and research material abounds regarding their craft for those who are fans as well. And while Pablo Picasso’s cardboard guitar sculptures might be practically impossible to collect, there are books and affordable prints available on eBay for guitar collectors andaficionados.

Take a look at our curated list of exhibition-related items available on eBay.

D'angelico Excel by Michael A Lewis

(buy it now price, $21,500)

John D’Angelico is one of the “guitar heroes” whose beautiful instruments are featured in a new exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. His guitars, like this one, are coveted works of art.
John D'Angelico Guitar maker 1930-40's Tiple Ukulele

(buy it now price, $29,999)

D’Angelico also made other exquisite, highly collectible stringed instruments, such as this ukulele.
Gibson L5 100th Anniversary Limited

(buy it now price, $4,399.96)

Also on view at the “Guitar Heroes” show are classic guitars by the well-known instrument company Gibson, such as the L5. The L5 is a model that influenced John D’Angelico. This limited-edition L5 is a collectors item.
James D'Aquisto New Yorker Special

(buy it now price, $39.95)

Guitars made by James D’Aquisto, another of the “guitar hero” instrument makers featured in a new show at the Met, are hard to come by. But you can learn about his craft in this DVD—a documentary on D’Aquisto’s work.
Blue Guitars Archtops D'aquisto Monteleone + POSTCARD

(buy it now price, $3.95)

Many of the gorgeous guitars on view at the Met’s “Guitar Heroes” show are high-priced and obviously museum-worthy objects. But you can stare for hours at this lovely postcard that features guitars by two of the master guitar makers in the exhibition, a highly affordable way to bring the beauty of these instruments home.
Picasso: Guitars 1912-1914 Picasso

(buy it now price, $27.83)

Also on view at New York’s Museum of Modern Art this spring is the show “Picasso: Guitars 1912-14, devoted to paper sculptures that Pablo Picasso made of stringed instruments. Can’t make it to New York? Check out the exhibition’s catalogue.
New Until We Felt Red by Kaki King CD

(buy it now price, $10.97)

At MoMA, the Picasso show is accompanied by a series of performances by innovative musicians known for their daring new approaches to guitar playing, including Kaki King. Pick up her CD to get a sense of King’s performance at the museum.
Picasso Guitar Picador Nude Linocut 1962 Lithograph

(buy it now price, $85)

Althought the MoMA show concentrates specifically on Picasso’s work from 1912-14, Picasso clearly returned to the theme of the guitar in his later work. This lithograph print features a Picasso image of a guitarist, dating from 1962.