Guy Wildenstein
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Guy Wildenstein (born December 19, 1945) is a French/American businessman, art dealer and racehorse owner and breeder.
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Early life
Born in New York City, Guy Wildenstein is the son of Daniel Wildenstein, an art dealer, race horse owner and breeder in France. His family had to flee France following the German occupation during World War II and make their way to the United States where Guy was born. He is a member of the Assembly of French Citizens Abroad.
Career
After his father's death in 2001, Guy Wildenstein assumed managing control of the art business, leaving his brother Alec to concentrate mainly on the horse racing and breeding operations. Alec Wildenstein died in 2008 leaving Guy in charge of both businesses. The size of his share of the family fortune and trusts, estimated from $5 billion to $10 billion, was disputed by his stepmother, Silvia Wildenstein, in 2009.
Among Wildenstein's art businesses is the Wildenstein & Company art gallery at 19 East 64th St.
Arrest
In January 2011, French police seized 30 artworks from the Wildenstein Institute in Paris. These pieces had been registered as “disappeared” or “stolen” and included some art by Degas and Manet. In July 2011, Guy Wildenstein, spent 36 hours in French police custody, sleeping two nights in the suburban headquarters for a special art theft squad outside Paris, where he was formally charged with concealing art that had been reported missing or stolen.
Criticism
The BBC programme, Fake or Fortune?, criticised Guy Wildenstein in June 2011, after the Wildenstein Institute refused to allow the painting Bords de la Seine a Argenteuil into the catalogue raisonné, despite the programme submitting conclusive documentary evidence to prove its authenticity. The programme's presenter Philip Mould called for the Wildenstein Institute to be replaced by a committee of scholars for the purpose of adjudicating whether a painting is an original Monet or not.
