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. The following artist-specific digital projects or publications are currently available for browsing on our website:
- Romare Bearden Papers
- Paul Gauguin: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings
- Tom Wesselmann Digital Corpus
- Legacy 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.

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
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
Director of Digital Publications
Sandrine Canac Ph.D.
Director of Digital Archival Projects
Jennifer Gimblett
Project Manager and Senior Researcher
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
Dana Anderson
Digital Asset Coordinator
Magdelaine Dickinson
Director of Finance and Administration
Sallie Fullerton
Administrator and Communications Coordinator
CONSULTANTS
Cynthia Biber
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
Head of Paris Office
Sophie Pietri
Head of Archives
Pascal Perrin
Head of Research
Françoise Marnoni
Researcher and Managing Editor, Gauguin Catalogue Raisonné
Anaïs Alax
Researcher
Laura Espagnon
Researcher
Evgenia Kuzmina Ph.D.
Researcher
Alexia Rouca
Administrative Assistant
Perrine Wanecq
Researcher and Managing Editor, Renoir Catalogue Raisonné
Frequently Asked Questions
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
If the Wildenstein Institute already issued an Attestation for a work by one of the artists listed above, will that work be included in a forthcoming WPI digital publication?
With the exception of any decisions made by the Renoir Committee before 2003 and any decisions made by the Van Dongen Committee at the Wildenstein Institute, the works that were given “Attestations of Inclusion” by the Wildenstein Institute will be included in the relevant forthcoming WPI publications. However, the WPI reserves the right to reconsider any previous decision.
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.
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.
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.
How do I confirm whether the Wildenstein Institute issued an Attestation Letter for a given work of art?
If you would like to know if a work was ever issued an Attestation of Inclusion from the Wildenstein Institute, you must submit an Archival Inquiry. We can check to see if we have a file on the work and whether it was issued a letter of inclusion or non-inclusion.
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 written Letter of Determination from the WPI, you will need to submit a Request for Research and Inclusion.
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.
How do I get a Letter of Determination from the WPI, and what will it tell me?
If you would like to receive a Letter of 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 a letter from the WPI 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.
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 I would like to request information from the archives about a particular work of art, what should I do?
The WPI can only fulfill Archival Inquiries for works on which we maintain research dossiers. We are not able to answer requests that do not relate to a specific work of art for which we maintain a research dossier.
If you send us an Archival Inquiry, we can verify if a work of art was previously recorded in the Archives and provide a summary of the information contained in the archival dossier. Since these dossiers contain information that may have been compiled by third-party institutions, we cannot make any representations or warranties about the content or accuracy of the information contained therein. This service is subject to a non-refundable fee of $550, plus NY state sales tax. You can submit your request on our Archival Inquiry page. However, if you would like additional information on a work of art that would require our staff to do research that is not included in a historic dossier, you must submit a Request for Research and 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 provide refunds for Requests for Research and Inclusion or Archival Inquiries?
We will not provide any refunds if our staff have already begun work on a request. However, the WPI will provide a refund, less any applicable processing fees, for an Archival Inquiry that is exchanged for a Request for Research and Inclusion for the same work of art. All refunds are subject to processing fees. No other refunds will be provided for services rendered.