Wildenstein Plattner Institute

The Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc. (WPI), a privately funded, non-profit organization, is committed to the advancement of art historical research. Central to our mission is the production of an online database of catalogue raisonnés, made possible by a promised gift of all of the art historical archives and scholarly documents held by the Wildenstein Institute, including the rights to its affiliated catalogue raisonnés and critical catalogues. Thanks to the generous support of our founders Guy Wildenstein, Hasso Plattner and their families, the WPI will conduct research and provide information on works of art with the aid of these unique archival holdings.

In an effort to facilitate access to this resource, the WPI will create a comprehensive inventory of the archives, with a digital finding aid that will be available on our website. The WPI is also developing a database of digitized archival material and online catalogue raisonnés that will provide the most up-to-date information on the oeuvre of significant artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Over the coming years, the WPI will continue to add unique and important art historical material to our archive in an effort to enhance our ongoing research projects and to facilitate new initiatives.

The majority of the WPI archives were assembled over the last century by the Wildenstein family to support the writing of catalogue raisonnés for major French artists of the 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as for the catalogue raisonné of the American artist Jasper Johns.

Included in the archives are the entire research dossiers on individual works of art, scholars’ research notes, galleries’ and dealers’ stock books, artists’ and collectors’ estate inventories, artists’ correspondence, and a vast collection of annotated sale catalogues.

The WPI will be preparing a comprehensive inventory of these archival materials, which will reveal the scope and richness of these holdings for the first time. Along with this inventory, the WPI will digitize crucial elements of the archives with the aim to preserve this unique material for future scholarly research.

This definitive five-volume catalogue raisonné documents the entire body of painting and sculpture made by Johns from 1954 through 2014, encompassing 355 paintings and 86 sculptures. Foregrounding the art objects and maximizing the accessibility of information, the catalogue serves as a singular reference for scholars, artists, collectors, art professionals, and enthusiasts alike.

Learn more about WPI’s inaugural publication —>