How a digital catalogue raisonné and archive help to document and promote living artists
Discover the advantages of building a digital catalogue raisonné and archive now rather than waiting until a career comes to completion.
Digital catalogues raisonnés and archives offer numerous advantages for living artists, including simplifying the task of organizing physical archives and compiling portfolio materials. They also save valuable resources and play a crucial role in preserving an artist's legacy.
Inexpensively share an artist’s career in progress
Art portfolios and archives are never finite, and creating them should not have to cost a lot. Because digital catalogues raisonnés and archives often cost less than their physical counterparts, researchers can update and share them as research unfolds. Digital tools remove the risk of a catalogue raisonné and archive falling out of date. All that time and money spent creating physical portfolios and archives are lost if new works or research renders them obsolete. Digital catalogues raisonnés and archives exist as living documents that artists and researchers can edit and publish with a few clicks. This makes them more accurate records adaptable for different uses.
Evolve content and control narratives
Digital tools empower artists and their studios or estates to create and maintain a catalogue raisonné and archive in the hands of more diverse users. They empower more people to curate their own content and share it with audiences worldwide. Update digital catalogues raisonnés and archives with the latest information as an artist’s oeuvre grows, and transition them into a catalogue raisonné when their career is complete.
Protect legacy and intellectual property
Digital catalogues raisonnés and archives create and protect an artist’s legacy. Greater control over where and how an artist's work is shared leads to appropriate accreditation and compensation. Artists often use social media as a portfolio or to promote their work. This makes them vulnerable to significant losses. Violations and infringements often occur, and platforms are prone to changing their policies without warning. With digital catalogues raisonnés and archives, creators remain the authority on their work.
Digital catalogues raisonnés can be publiches incrementally, making them a wonderful option for living artists to begin building their legacy.
Last updated: 30 September, 2025