Thousands of one-of-a-kind artifacts from Paul Allen’s collection, spanning decades of cultural relevance, are headed to Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture, the institution he helped found 23 years ago.
The bequest by the estate of the late Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist comes just under five years since his death in October 2018 at the age of 65.
Items from the avid collector, who launched MoPOP as the Experience Music Project in 2000, span music, film and television and include such things as instruments, props, costumes, scripts, posters, handbills, illustrations and more. Some have been previously exhibited by the museum and others have never been shown in public.
“This one-of-a-kind bequest reflects Paul’s lifelong passion for how creativity of all kinds and spanning multiple genres is an inspiration,” MoPOP CEO Michele Smith said in a news release. “These artifacts and their stories wonderfully support our continued mission to use the power of pop culture to spark joy …”
Highlights of the gift include:
- 1951 Epiphone FT 79 acoustic guitar owned by Jimi Hendrix.
- Hand-painted and smashed Univox electric guitar owned by Kurt Cobain.
- Complete alien creature suit from the 1979 film “Alien.”
- Darth Vader’s helmet from the 1980 film “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.”
- Handwritten lyrics by David Bowie for “Starman” from the early 1970s.
- Motorcycle jacket worn by Prince in his 1984 film “Purple Rain.”
- A collection of Nichelle Nichols’ (Lt. Nyota Uhura) hand-annotated scripts from the “Star Trek” television and film series (1965-1998).
- The iconic hat worn by Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz.”
- A full-size flying “Spinner” vehicle from the 1982 film Blade Runner.
Allen’s original mandate at EMP was to build an outsized tribute to Hendrix, the rock icon Allen adored, and gather anything related to him that was cool. The focus — and the name — changed over the years.
Allen’s sister Jody Allen is the executor of the vast Paul G. Allen estate, and for several years has been selling off pieces of it, ranging from superyachts to works of art to historic military aircraft. In May, the Cinerama movie theater in Seattle was finally sold after sitting closed for more than three years. All proceeds from these sales have been dedicated to philanthropy.
“Having had the pleasure to work with some of these objects in the past, and now the opportunity to integrate many others into MoPOP’s collection, we are thrilled to be able to highlight the impact and resonance of these artifacts and how they have helped shaped our popular culture,” said Jacob McMurray, MoPOP’s director of curatorial, collections, and exhibits.
Several dozen artifacts from the bequest are currently on display in MoPOP exhibits, including “Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction;” “Fantasy: Worlds of Myth & Magic”; “Scared to Death: The Thrill of Horror Film”; “Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses.” The artifacts will also be incorporated into future exhibitions and loaned to other museums and institutions worldwide.
And they’ll be added to an online vault. McMurray spoke with GeekWire last year about MoPOP’s efforts to turn the more than 80,000 items in its permanent collection into an extensive internet resource.
