Daniel Wildenstein: Third in the dynasty

Private funeral services are planned for next week in Paris.

Wildenstein had an impressive art collection, but also headed various art projects including research on artists and sponsored the publication of a survey of 17th and 18th Century art.

His family, based in New York, have been key figures in the art world for more than a century.

The family currently maintains both the Wildenstein Gallery and the Pace Wildenstein Gallery, both in Manhattan.

It was Wildenstein's grandfather Nathan who first built up a collection of 18th Century French art in the late 19th Century.

Court cases

He established himself with galleries in Paris, Tokyo and New York.

His son Georges brought a library of rare art books and photographic archives into the family business.

Daniel developed the family's art collection and published catalogues about the works of Monet, Renoir, Von Dongen and other artists.

Despite a desire for privacy, Wildenstein's family has been in the news frequently in recent years in connection with a number of court cases, both on professional and personal issues.

The family is currently defending a New York case brought by the heirs of a prominent Jewish art collector, Alphonse Kann, who claim that eight manuscripts dating from the 15th, 16th and 17th Centuries belong to them, not the Wildensteins.