About – Wildenstein Plattner Institute

What we do

The Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc. is a non-profit, private foundation established in 2016 and based in New York City. Working in collaboration with the Fonds WPI, our partner institution in Paris, we produce digitized catalogue raisonné projects, archival material, and related cultural programming, all accessible to the public online for free. Our institute aims to demonstrate the critical importance and relevance of archival research and its impact on cultural heritage, and to galvanize new avenues of scholarly exploration that pertain to our digital holdings.

Of major importance to our foundation is the production of digital catalogue raisonné projects. A catalogue raisonné is a compendium of all the works produced by a particular artist. The inclusion of works in this publication, by its very definition, is based on the reasoning and deliberations of a scholar or group of scholars, who spend years reviewing primary source materials, related archives, historic sales records, and published texts, and physically examining the works of art. Once compiled, the catalogue raisonné is an essential resource for anyone seeking information about the artist, their production, and their broader cultural influence. These publications are necessary tools within the ecosystem of the art world, and the data contained therein must be continually updated and expanded as new scholarship and information comes to light.

Our work at the WPI includes updating and revising select legacy publications gifted to us by the Wildenstein Institute, as well as embarking upon new catalogue raisonné projects that have begun since 2017. As a part of this initiative, the public is strongly encouraged to submit works to our specific catalogue raisonné committees for review and examination. Previously published information or opinions will only be reconsidered upon formal request to the current committee. For more information about our catalogue raisonné projects and committee examinations, please visit our services page.

Artists Under Study at the WPI

The staff at the WPI currently works on forthcoming publication-related activities for Bearden, Gauguin, Gonzalès, Manet, Marquet, Monet, Pissarro, Redon, Renoir, Van Dongen, Vlaminck, and Wesselmann. Please consult the “Artists” section on our website to discover artist-specific digital projects and publications.

Statement on Critical Cataloguing at the WPI

The WPI’s publications and archival collections have research value and are a product of the historical time period in which they were produced. Our legacy collections may contain language and/or imagery that are offensive because of content relating to race, ability, gender, religion, or sexuality/sexual orientation. The documents, images, publications, and other materials are presented in their original state and context and do not necessarily reflect the values of the WPI. To learn more about the WPI’s efforts to mitigate the effect of potentially harmful images and language, please read the WPI Digital Archives Statement on Potentially Harmful Language and Content in Cataloguing and Archival Description.

Accessibility

The WPI strives to make all of our content and materials available to all visitors. Whenever possible, textual materials such as books, periodicals, and sales catalogues are equipped with optical character recognition (known as OCR) to make them both searchable and accessible to screen readers. Auditory materials, including oral histories and recordings of lectures, are published with closed captioning or transcriptions. Visual materials, such as the reproduction of artworks, are often provided with basic descriptions of their content. If there are additional ways we can support access to materials, please feel free to contact us at info@wpi.art.

What we do

Board & Staff
FAQ

Board & Staff

The WPI maintains its executive and administrative office in New York City and a team of art historians at the Fonds WPI in Paris oversee our historical archives. Our catalogue raisonné projects rely on the opinions of accredited scholars and specialists in the field, who serve as independent consultants or as anonymous participants on our catalogue raisonné committees.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Stefanie Plattner
Co-Chair

Vanessa Wildenstein
Co-Chair

Elizabeth Gorayeb
Treasurer and Secretary

Alyson Marczynski

ADVISORY BOARD

Vivian Endicott Barnett

Roberta Bernstein

David Newbury

Jack Flam

Deborah Kempe

Lily Pregill

Theodore Reff

William Ruprecht

Lori Salmon

Viki Sand

WPI, INC.

Elizabeth Gorayeb
Executive Director

Caitlin Sweeney
Senior Director of Digital Strategy and Publications

Sandrine Canac Ph.D.
Director of Digital Archival Projects

Jennifer Gimblett
Deputy Director, Research and Publications

Huffa Frobes-Cross Ph.D.
Tom Wesselmann Catalogue Raisonné Project Manager

Samantha Rowe
Digital Archivist and Research Associate

Camara Holloway Ph.D.
Romare Bearden Catalogue Raisonné Project Manager

Claire K. Henry
Researcher

Catherine Huff
Researcher

Vitoria Hadba
Researcher

Catherine Thomas
Researcher

Lillian Beeson
Researcher

Dana Anderson
Digital Assets Coordinator

Cynthia Biber
Cataloguing Specialist

Magdelaine Dickinson
Director of Finance and Administration

Janet Lee
Communications Coordinator and Administrator

CONSULTANTS

Sylvie Crussard

Claire Durand-Ruel

Anita Hopmans
Senior Research Manager for the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History

Géraldine Lefebvre

Claude Jacir

Josie Naron

FONDS WPI FRANCE

Florence Sonier Lecerf
Head of Paris Office

Sophie Pietri
Head of Archives

Françoise Marnoni
Head of Digital Production, Legacy Catalogue Raisonné Projects

Anaïs Alax
Researcher

Laura Espagnon
Researcher

Evgenia Kuzmina Ph.D.
Researcher

Alexia Rouca
Administrative Assistant

Perrine Wanecq
Senior Researcher and Managing Editor, Renoir Catalogue Raisonné

FAQ

What catalogue raisonné or digital corpus projects are being prepared by the WPI?

The WPI research teams are working to prepare new and updated catalogue raisonné and digital corpus projects that document the decisions of our expertise committees. If you would like a work to be considered for one of these digital publications, please visit our “Submit a Request” page for more
information:

Romare Bearden
Paul Gauguin
Eva Gonzalès
Édouard Manet
Albert Marquet
Claude Monet
Camille Pissarro: Paintings, Pastels, and Gouaches
Odilon Redon
Pierre-Auguste Renoir: Paintings, Drawings, and Pastels
Kees van Dongen: Paintings
Maurice de Vlaminck
Tom Wesselmann
Florine Stettheimer

Does the WPI authenticate or value works of art?

No. The WPI does not authenticate works of art nor do we make any representation regarding the value of works of art.

How do I receive a Determination from the WPI, and what will it tell me?

If you would like to a Determination from the WPI, you will need to submit a Request for Research and Inclusion.
Following the research and in-person examination of a work of art by scholars at a committee meeting, you will receive the committee’s Determination indicating that:
the work will be included in the WPI Digital Catalogue; or
the work will not be included in the WPI Digital Catalogue; or
no determination about the work can be made
If the work is to be included in a forthcoming Catalogue, the WPI may also provide information on the provenance, as well as relevant exhibition and bibliographic citations, as a courtesy to you. If the work will not be included, the WPI reserves the right to provide no further comment.

Does the WPI issue determination letters if the work is to be included in a digital catalogue raisonné?

The innovation of publishing catalogues raisonnés online includes continuous updates to these publications. When a work has been examined and inclusion has been determined by a WPI committee, an entry for the work will be updated in the digital catalogue raisonné. For attestations of inclusion in a catalogue raisonné that is still forthcoming, the WPI will communicate the determination in writing.

If I am not in possession of the original Attestation from the Wildenstein Institute, can the WPI reissue this document?

No. The WPI does not re-issue letters that have been lost. If you would like a Determination from the WPI, you will need to submit a Request for Research and Inclusion.

Will the WPI be publishing any printed books?

From time to time, the WPI will publish printed materials related to the artists and art historical periods under our study. All forthcoming catalogue raisonné projects will only be published online.

Can the WPI provide information on the transactional history of works of art handled by the galleries of Wildenstein?

No. The WPI is not in possession of any of the Wildenstein gallery records.

When are the next committee meetings?

Committees meet periodically throughout the year on an as-needed basis in either Paris or New York. You will be notified of the location and date of a forthcoming committee meeting after we receive your Request for Inclusion.

If a work has been published in a WI or WPI catalogue raisonné, can the WPI provide updated cataloguing or supplementary information on that work?

We do not perform bespoke research on individual works. The WPI is unable to perform any new research unless a Request for Research and Inclusion has been submitted.

Is the WPI hosting committees on the artist Maurice de Vlaminck?

Yes. In December 2022, the WPI created a new Maurice de Vlaminck committee to examine requests for inclusion in the artist’s catalogue raisonné. Our forthcoming digital publication will consist of works given Attestations of Inclusion by the Wildenstein Institute and WPI between 1992 to 2018. However, the WPI reserves the right to reconsider a previous decision.
If you would like to submit a work for review by the Comité Vlaminck, you may do so here.

Does the WPI seize or destroy works of art?

No. The WPI does not seize, destroy, or physically alter any work of art submitted for examination.

Does the WPI provide refunds for Requests for Research and Inclusion?

We will not provide any refunds if our staff have already begun work on a request.