Professional Guidelines

Introduction

Ethical standards and professional guidelines are codes of behavior that evolve over time and represent a consensus of opinion in an organization or association about appropriate actions to take under particular circumstances. They are generalized principles and cannot enumerate every eventuality that might occur. Moreover, they are rarely legally binding, or even enforceable by the group. But they serve an important function: to articulate current norms and expected standards of behavior. Below is a list of guidelines enacted by various professional arts groups (in alphabetical order), primarily regarding the collecting, acquisition, and ownership of art objects, including objects that may have been looted during the Nazi era, or antiquities that may have been looted from archaeological sites or been exported from their countries of origin in contravention of patrimony or other laws. Clicking on the links leads to the full text of the guidelines. IFAR will update and expand this list, as needed.

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American Association of Museums (AAM)

Guidelines Concerning the Unlawful Appropriation of Objects During the Nazi Era (1999, amended 2001)

American Association of Museums (AAM)

Standards Regarding Archaeological Material and Ancient Art (2008)

American Association of Museums (AAM)

Code of Ethics for Museums (1991, approved and amended November 1993)

Antique Tribal Art Dealers Association (ATADA)

Trade Practices and Guarantee, Article X, Amended Bylaws of the Antique Tribal Art Dealers Association, Inc. (1997, amended 2007)

Archaeological Institute of America (AIA)

Code of Ethics (1990, amended 1997)

Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA)

ADAA Code of Ethics and Professional Practices

Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD)

Report of the AAMD Task Force on the Spoliation of Art during the Nazi/World War II Era (1933-1945) (1998, with 2001 addendum)

Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD)

New Report on Acquisition of Archaeological Materials and Ancient Art Issued by Association of Art Museum Directors (2008)

Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD)

Art Museums and the Identification and Restitution of Works Stolen by the Nazis (2007) - Position Paper (Not Guidelines)

British Art Market Federation (BAMF)

Principles of Conduct of the UK Art Market Adopted by the British Art Market Federation (2000)

College Art Association (CAA)

A Code of Ethics for Art Historians and Guidelines for the Professional Practice of Art History (1995)

College Art Association (CAA)

CAA Statement on the Importance of Documenting the Historical Context of Objects and Sites (2004)

Confederation international des negociants en oeuvres d'art (CINOA)

International Support and Guidelines (1987, amended 1998 and 2005)

Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA)

Moratorium on Acquisition of Archaeological Objects Lacking Adequate Provenance (2007)

International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art (IADAA)

Code of Ethics and Practice

International Council of Museums (ICOM)

ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums (as revised in 2004)

J. Paul Getty Museum

Acquisitions Policy for the J. Paul Getty Museum (2006)

Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA)

Collections Management Policy (2008)

Museums Association (MA)

Code of Ethics for Museums: Ethical principles for all who work or govern museums in the UK (2002)

Society for American Archaeology (SAA)

Principles of Archaeological Ethics (1996)

World Archaeological Congress (WAC)

First Code of Ethics (1990)

Additional Comments

In addition to the above guidelines, professional ethics and standards are discussed in many hard-copy publications, particularly those relating to museum governance. An excellent resource is the American Association of Museums' Bookstore, www.aam-us.org/bookstore. See also various books on art law, such as Law, Ethics, and the Visual Arts, 5th edition, by John H. Merryman, Albert E. Elsen, and Stephen K. Urice (Kluwer Law International, 2007), pp. 232-246; 1238-1271, and passim.