We are pleased to announce the launch of the WPI Digital Library, a resource long envisioned by the teams at the Wildenstein Plattner Institute and Navigating.art. The Digital Library's collection comprises digitized sales catalogues, exhibition catalogues, and catalogues raisonnés with a focus on paintings, drawings, sculpture, and prints by European artists active from the 18th through the 20th century.
The Digital Library integrates the vast collection of sales catalogues previously on the WPI Sales Catalogues Database, forty-seven catalogues raisonnés and artist monographs published by the historic Wildenstein Institute, and, available to the public for the first time, 972 exhibition catalogues of exhibitions held at the Wildenstein Galleries from 1911 to 2012, totaling over 25,000 digitized publications. The Digital Library will expand its holdings as the WPI continues to identify and prepare additional resources, including books, exhibition catalogues, periodicals, artists' monographs, and catalogues raisonnés.
In addition to the features that were available on the Sales Catalogues Database (i.e., detailed indexing, full-text search capabilities, high-quality digitized images), the Digital Library offers:
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Expanded search filters
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Advanced search results sorting
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More comprehensive metadata, including OCLC numbers for select publications
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Full-text OCR search across all publications in multiple languages
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…and continued development of features as Digital Library resources are integrated with other WPI digital catalogues raisonnés and archives
This incredible digital resource not only offers researchers an improved interface and search management, it also serves as a foundational infrastructure for resource-sharing across WPI digital projects and other institutions. For an in-depth look at the Library's design and features, we recommend reading "Advancing free scholarly access to art historical research materials: announcing the WPI Digital Library" on Navigating.art.
We welcome feedback from users who use WPI digital projects for their research. Stay in touch at info@wpi-art.org
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Samantha Rowe
Archivist
The Wildenstein Plattner Institute
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