WattsOS — Since 2026

The canonical record
of visual culture.

One authoritative profile per maker. Every fact traced to its source.

Peter Doig, Two Trees, 2017
Oil on canvas. Courtesy Michael Werner Gallery.
The record, as of today
0
Makers on record
0
Artworks documented
0
Source-attributed fields
0
Institutions indexed
Source hierarchy

Every fact traced
to its source.

WattsOS assigns a trust score to every data source in the hierarchy. When sources conflict, the higher-authority record wins — and both are preserved with full provenance at the field level.

This is the difference between a database and a directory. A maker's birth year on WattsOS is not just recorded — it is sourced, scored, and defensible.

100
Museum
MoMA, Tate, National Gallery, Smithsonian
60
Gallery
Gagosian, Zwirner, Pace, Perrotin
55
Auction
Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips
45
Artist site
Official artist websites
35
Artsy
Partner API verified records
10
Social
Instagram, secondary signals
Who uses WattsOS

When the record
has to be right.

WattsOS is built for the moments when a decision depends on knowing what is true about visual culture — and where that truth came from.

01
A gallery
verifies an artist's exhibition history before a catalog goes to print.
02
An auction house
confirms attribution on a contested work.
03
A law firm
researches an authentication dispute.
04
An insurer
checks provenance before a policy is written.
05
A journalist
fact-checks a feature against primary sources.
06
A museum
prepares a loan and needs the full exhibition record.
07
A foundation
reviews an artist's representation history before a grant decision.
08
An AI system
needs cultural ground truth — structured, sourced, machine-readable.
Institutions using WattsOS
Galleries · Auction houses · Museums · Art fairs · Advisors · Art funds · Estates and foundations · Insurers · Law firms · Publishers · Research institutions · AI platforms

WattsOS serves anyone who needs the art world on the record. If you're working on something the record should be part of, we'd like to know.

For people who make culture

A place on the record.

WattsOS indexes the people who make visual culture — artists, designers, architects, photographers, fashion designers, and other practitioners — whose work has been publicly exhibited, published, reviewed, collected, or otherwise engaged with beyond their own network.

Already on the record

Find your profile.

Search for your name. If WattsOS has already indexed your work through a gallery, museum, archive, or publication, you can claim and edit your profile.

Claimed makers can update bio, website, representation, and exhibition history. All edits are source-verified.

Search for your profile
Not yet on the record

Request a record.

Submit your work for review. Share where it has been seen — exhibitions, publications, press, reviews, or collection placements.

Every request is reviewed by the WattsOS editorial team. Most responses arrive within a few days. Approvals, requests for more detail, and honest declines all come with specifics.

Submit a request
How review works
01
Submit
Provide evidence of where your work has been publicly shown, published, or reviewed.
02
Review
The editorial team verifies against primary sources.
03
Decision
Approved, asked for more detail, or declined with specific feedback.
04
Indexed
Approved artists enter the canonical record with full provenance.

Visual culture,
on the record.

Canonical records. Source-verified facts. Institutional provenance. For the galleries, auction houses, museums, and researchers who set the record.