Wildenstein Institute

Until 2017, it housed the historic documents and photographic archives assembled by Nathan Wildenstein (the company founder) and his son Georges, which have been added to by subsequent generations.

In 2011, a police raid discovered and seized 30 paintings valued at tens of millions of pounds from the institute's Paris headquarters (see: Guy Wildenstein#Criticism).

The Institute controversially refused to authenticate Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil after an investigation by Fiona Bruce (a journalist) and Philip Mould (an art dealer and historian) in the BBC television programme Fake or Fortune?, which first aired on 19 June 2011.

Another controversial finding featured on Fake or Fortune?, first aired July 2015, involved a painting purported to be by Pierre-Auguste Renoir held at Picton Castle, Wales.

The BBC investigators unearthed several lines of authenticity, including additional levels of provenance with photographic records of sale and forensically matching pigments and canvas to Renoir.