Conservation organisations and professional standards

Abstract

The first international organisation to be formed in the post-Second World War period was the International Council of Museums, founded in Paris in November 1946. Its first general conference was held in Paris on 28 June–3 July 1948. The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works was founded on 27 April 1950; discussions about the need for an institute that would study the nature and properties of the materials of works of art, the agents of their deterioration, and methods of treatment began shortly after the end of the Second World War. The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide through training, information, research, cooperation, and advocacy programmes. The 'Document of Pavia' emerged from the summit on 'Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Towards a European Profile of the Conservator-Restorer' held in Pavia, Italy, 18–22 October 1997.