Archival Inquiry

From the early 20th century until its closing in 2016, the Wildenstein Institute assembled a vast collection of documentation and archival materials to support catalogue raisonné research. In an effort to provide access to some of these materials, the WPI offers a fee-based Archival Inquiry service, pursuant to which the WPI can conduct a search for a specific artwork among our artwork dossiers and, if a dossier believed to match that work is located, provide a summary of the information contained therein.

We can only fulfill Archival Inquiries in relation to artworks for which we believe we are in possession of research dossiers. If the WPI is not in possession of a dossier on the specific artwork contained in the Archival Inquiry or cannot determine if it possesses such a dossier, we will not be able to provide any further information, and the fee for your Archival Inquiry will not be refunded. Since these dossiers contain information that may have been compiled by third-parties, we do not make any representations or warranties about the content or accuracy of the information contained therein; our provision of any dossier is subject at all times to the Terms and Conditions (Archival Inquiry) set during the order process.

Please note that any response to an Archival Inquiry from the WPI does not indicate a new decision regarding inclusion in a forthcoming WPI catalogue raisonné or digital corpus. The WPI’s service in relation to an Archival Inquiry will not include the undertaking of any new research; there are no exceptions. This service requires a prepayment of $750-plus NY state sales tax. The typical turnaround time for response to an Archival Inquiry is 2-4 weeks. Please note that complex requests will require additional time. This service requires a pre-payment of $750 plus New York state sales tax.