Purpose of Museums

As previously mentioned, the American Association of Museums believes museums should collect, preserve, and interpret things of this world. Museum holdings can be collected in a variety of ways: purchase of items, donations, and through loans from other museums or private collectors. Once an object is acquired, it is pertinent that the museum properly cares for it to preserve it for future generations. Conservators are museum employees responsible for the care and conservation of these works of art. We will learn more about them later this section.

Finally, the museum will create a label for the artwork that identifies the title of the artwork, artist (if applicable), date created, medium, and description. This description often refers to the conditions of the period in which the work was made and any other details to interpret the meaning for the viewer.