Jerry Garcia Auction: Musician's Personal Artwork, Guitars, Harley to Be Sold Off

Rare artwork, musical instruments and even a Harley Davidson will be up for grabs in May as part of a 'Visions of Garcia' auction selling off belongings of the late Grateful Dead singer Jerry Garcia.

According to Artdaily, auction home Bonhams will stage the sale May 8 in San Francisco (it will also be simulcast in New York). Some of the more prized items include one of only five known original oil paintings by Garcia created around 1959 and given to his brother. The painting, estimated at between $100,000 to $150,000 US, "depicts a blue-yellow sky, pink hills and multi-colored terrain."

Other artwork expected to fetch a high price includes two sketchbooks with 30 unseen original images ($65,000 to $75,000 US), a set of airbrush originals from around 1985 of "Alien Craft & Brain by Garcia" ($120,000 to $180,000 US) and the original "preliminary cover art" of the group's famous Europe 72 double live album ($100,000 to $150,000 US).

The auction will also include some of Garcia's instruments, including a Takamine guitar he played for acoustic shows from 1985 to 1988 ($100,000 to $150,000 US), an Ibanez guitar which Ibanez and fellow band mate Bob Weir designed for Garcia in 1977 ($50,000 to $60,000 US) and a 1983 Harley Davidson that Garcia owned ($40,000 to $60,000 US). The motorcycle also appeared on the cover of the David Gans book 'Playing in the Band.'

Also on the auction block are Garcia's sunglasses, handwritten set lists, drums, amplifiers, original Rick Griffin artwork for the 'Dylan and the Dead' album cover, and the famous Skull and Roses banner which appeared in 'The Grateful Dead Movie.'

An auction preview will take place in New York from April 11-16 and another in San Francisco May 4-7. The auction will take place on May 8, with an illustrated catalogue to be made available in the coming weeks.

Previous auctions of Garcia's materials and instruments fetched a sizable amount of cash. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a 2007 auction featuring two of the musician's electric guitars garnered $415,000 US combined with 115 items earning $1.1 million US. In 2002, two of Garcia's most famous guitars, known to fans as "Tiger" and "Wolf," sold for $957,500 and $789,500 US, respectively.

Garcia died in 1995 from a heart attack in California. He was 53.

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