What does it take to map the creative legacy of one of America’s greatest artists, and share it with the world? For the Wildenstein Plattner Institute (WPI), the answer isn’t just scholarship. It’s innovation. It’s collaboration. And above all, it’s access.
With the release of the first installment of the Romare Bearden Digital Catalogue Raisonné, WPI is setting a new precedent: a freely accessible, meticulously researched, technologically advanced resource that not only charts Bearden’s work from 1964 to 1969 but also opens new doors into his creative world.
We spoke with Janet Lee, Communications Coordinator and Administrator, and Catherine Huff, Art Historian and Researcher, to learn what went into this unprecedented project and what it means for the future of digital art scholarship.
Dr. Camara Holloway (Left) and Catherine Huff (Right) with Burial by Romare Bearden, part of the McConnell Family Trust, at the Mint Museum on March 17, 2023.
A Landmark for WPI and Access
“The Bearden catalogue raisonné marks a significant moment in the history of our organization,” Lee and Huff write. “Not only are we releasing the first digital catalogue raisonné for a major African American artist, we are also creating a discoverable digital network of information on Bearden and his circle.”
That discoverability—one of WPI’s central goals—reflects a larger mission to democratize access to art historical knowledge. “One of the critical objectives of WPI projects is to make previously rarified or difficult-to-access research available to a much wider audience,” they explain.
This spirit of openness extends beyond just the artworks themselves. The project integrates everything from archival letters and photographs to newly identified works and research leads shared by Bearden’s family, collectors, dealers, and collaborators.
“This is especially true of the Bearden project, which relied upon the collaboration of various entities in the artworld… who shared their knowledge and hitherto unknown information with us.”
The result is a living ecosystem of discovery, made possible through community input and digital reach.
Design Meets Research
A tool is only as powerful as its usability. That’s why WPI partnered with the nonprofit tech team at Navigating.art to create a user experience that blends intuitive design with scholarly rigor.
“Our collaboration with Navigating.art was a true convergence of art historical and technological expertise,” write Lee and Huff. “The cataloguing and archiving tool was developed in response to the needs of the project and the research priorities of our user base.”
Key features reflect the priorities of both art historians and general users. The platform allows for ongoing updates as new findings emerge and makes it easy to search works by provenance, date, or keyword.
It also brings the Romare Bearden Papers to life in groundbreaking ways. “We wanted, above all, to create a platform that enabled us to continuously update information as new research came to light,” they note. “It was also important to be able to integrate the Romare Bearden Papers, as these archival materials are foundational to what we know about each work in the catalogue.”
And to make that archive truly accessible, WPI and Navigating.art went beyond PDFs and folders. “The tech team also developed a bespoke media platform within the Bearden Papers specifically for the Audio Visual Materials,” they explain, “featuring OCR-enabled transcripts and accompanying timestamps that are responsive to media playback for enhanced accessibility.”
Unveiling the Unknown
Many works in the new catalogue will be familiar to longtime Bearden fans. But others have never been publicly shared before.
“While many of the works presented in this first installment figure in public collections, over 50 of these works were previously unaccounted for and were identified by Dr. Camara Holloway throughout this project,” write Lee and Huff. “This includes a previously lost portrait of African American sculptor Edmonia Lewis.”
The addition of such rediscovered works underscores the evolving nature of catalogue raisonné research and the unique strengths of a digital model that can grow in real time.
The team also released new content to the Bearden Papers archive alongside the catalogue launch, providing a richer picture of the artist’s world. “Bearden was a writer and composer as well,” they note. “This new material encompasses essays, journals, song lyrics, collaborative pieces, and much more.”
Together, the catalogue and archives offer something rare: a view of an artist’s career that is both comprehensive and intimate.
Standards, Transparency, and Preservation
The Romare Bearden Catalogue Raisonné Project. Edited and compiled by the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc.
For a resource of this scale to be truly useful, it must also be transparent and interoperable. That’s why the catalogue raisonné includes meticulous documentation: the date each work was examined by the committee, source references, and digital links wherever possible.
“Our database incorporates standardized vocabularies and specifications,” Lee and Huff write, “such as the Getty's Union List of Artist Names (ULAN) and Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN), and the Library of Congress's Extended Date/Time Format (EDTF) so that information can be shared across institutions.”
This attention to standards and sustainability ensures that the catalogue will remain a vital tool for decades to come.
“The development of WPI digital catalogue raisonné projects are a part of a larger effort to share and preserve cultural heritage and make art historical information more widely accessible.”
Collaboration at Every Level
The Bearden project is a case study in what’s possible when art historians, technologists, archivists, and community members come together with a shared vision.
“Dr. Camara Holloway worked closely with our Digital Archivist Samantha Rowe in processing the Romare Bearden Papers,” they explain. That collaboration made it possible to draw “new connections among the artist, his production, and his creative circle.”
But the collaboration didn’t stop there.
“Beyond the necessary collaboration between research team members at WPI and the technologists at Navigating.art, the project emphasizes the importance of collaboration with members of the broader art world,” write Lee and Huff. “This includes artists' estates and foundations (in this instance, the Romare Bearden Foundation) as well as gallerists, collectors, curators, and other scholars.”
“This important research is only possible with the investment of time, knowledge, and resources from the larger scholarly and art market community.”
A Model for the Future
The Romare Bearden Digital Catalogue Raisonné is more than a database. It’s a model for how digital tools, when thoughtfully deployed, can expand the boundaries of what art history can do—and who it’s for.
It is open access. It is evolving. It is rigorous. And most importantly, it is designed to last.
WPI’s work on this project signals a larger shift toward transparency, toward inclusion, and toward building an infrastructure where the lives and legacies of artists like Bearden can be studied, celebrated, and understood in full.
Because art history doesn’t just belong in libraries and archives. It belongs to everyone.Explore and Engage:
- Stay Updated: Follow the progress of the Romare Bearden Digital Catalogue Raisonné project through the Wildenstein Plattner Institute's official announcements.
- Dive into Bearden's World: Visit the Romare Bearden Foundation's website to explore more about his life, works, and ongoing projects dedicated to his legacy.
- Join the Conversation: Engage with art communities and discussions surrounding Bearden's impact and the significance of catalogues raisonnés in preserving artistic heritage.
By immersing yourself in these resources, you contribute to the vibrant continuum of appreciation and scholarship that keeps Bearden's spirit alive in the art world.