The Tamesis
Guy Wildenstein has resigned as president of internationally renowned gallery Wildenstein & Co. after some 35 years.
Wildenstein, 80, will be succeeded by his son David, 46, who has been vice president in charge of the investment arm and real estate portfolio. His daughter Vanessa, who heads the London gallery, will serve as vice president and director of the New York gallery.
Wildenstein also heads the Wildenstein Institute, which, in collaboration with the Hasso Plattner Foundation in Potsdam, publishes catalog raisonnés of artists such as Paul Gauguin, Jasper Johns and Claude Monet. The institute makes its catalog available free online.
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“Under his leadership, the Wildenstein Company helped shape countless private collections and continues to enrich the collections of major museums in the United States and around the world,” the gallery said in a statement to American Museums. The Art Newspaperfirst reported the news. The gallery also highlighted the way Wildenstein’s firm has diversified, with the firm “now also having a meaningful investment arm focused on real estate and private equity investments.”
Nathan Wildenstein, a tailor by trade, founded the gallery in 1875 after an aristocratic client asked him to sell her an Old Master painting. Wildenstein deals in art from the 17th century to the present, with a historical focus on works by French Impressionists and Old Masters. The gallery participates in top fairs such as TEFAF Maastricht and Frieze Masters.
Wildenstein was convicted of tax fraud in 2024 after a years-long legal battle in which he was accused of concealing masterpieces from his collection from tax authorities in order to evade hundreds of millions of euros in inheritance taxes. He was sentenced to four years in prison, half suspended and half under house arrest, and ordered to pay a €1 million fine (approximately $1.08 million at the time of sentencing). He was acquitted of tax fraud and money laundering in 2017, but the French appeals court overturned the verdict in 2021. Prosecutors said the Wildenstein family had perpetrated “the longest and most sophisticated tax fraud” in modern French history.
“Serving as president of Wildenstein Corporation is the greatest honor of my life,” Wildenstein told reporters The Art Newspaper. “I am extremely proud to run one of the world’s greatest art galleries and dealers. Throughout my tenure, I have had the loyal support of some truly talented colleagues and I am delighted with what our team has achieved together.”
wildenstein told The Art Newspaper This belief “is not related to his decision to resign, which is based on his belief that the company is well-positioned to continue to succeed under the leadership of David and Vanessa.”
