Standards and Guidelines
About CAA Standards and Guidelines
Since its founding in 1911, CAA has regularly issued Standards and Guidelines—professional practices for the fields of art and art history—which are developed by CAA’s committee, special task forces, and affiliated societies and presented to the Board of Directors for approval or endorsement. CAA encourages all members, institutional and individual, to read, understand, and use these documents. Published formally since 1973, the Standards and Guidelines are divided into five categories. The date in parentheses indicated when the document was written or last revised.
Please direct all queries regarding CAA’s Standards and Guidelines to Linda Downs, CAA executive director, at 212-392-4407.
Academic Programs
- MFA Standards (2008)
- Standards for the BA and BFA Degrees in Studio Art (2011)
- Standards for the AFA Degree in Studio Art (2011)
- Guidelines for Curatorial-Studies Programs (2009)
Career and Workplace
- Artist Résumé (2012)
- Curriculum Vitae for Visual Artists (2012)
- Curriculum Vitae for Art Historians (2003)
- Curriculum Vitae for Museum Professionals (2000)
- Etiquette for CAA Interviewers (2006)
- Guidelines for Part-Time Professional Employment (2004)
- Standards for Professional Placement (2012)
Ethics
- Statement on Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality (2011)
- Information about Museum Ethics and Professional Practices (2005)
- Code of Ethics for Art Historians and Guidelines for the Professional Practice of Art History (1995)
Legal Issues
- Printmakers Contracts (1978)
- Public Art Works (1987)
- Guide to the New York Print and Photograph Law (1982)
- Promotion of Distance Education through Digital Technologies (1999)
- Quick Guide to Artists’ Rights under the New Copyright Law (1977)
- Standards for Sculptural Reproduction and Preventive Measures to Combat Unethical Casting in Bronze (1974)
- Copyrights and Permissions in Scholarly and Educational Publishing (under review)
- Visual Resources Association: Statement on the Fair Use of Images for Teaching, Research, and Study (2011)
- Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries, Association of Research Libraries (2012)
Best Practices
Artists and Faculty in Visual Art and Design
- Professional Practices for Artists (2011)
- Standards for Retention and Tenure of Art and Design Faculty (2011)
- Guidelines for Faculty Teaching in New-Media Arts (2007)
- Slide Labeling (1999)
- Works in New Media: Recommendations for the Formatting, Handling, and Screening of Works (2000)
Art Historians
- Code of Ethics for Art Historians and Guidelines for the Professional Practice of Art History (1995)
- Authentications and Attributions (2009)
- Standards for Retention and Tenure of Art Historians (2010)
- Peer Review in Publications (2011)
- Statement on the Importance of Documenting the Historical Context of Objects and Sites (2004)
Academic Art Administrators
Museum Professionals
- Information about Museum Ethics and Professional Practices (2005)
- Professional Practices for Art Museum Curators (2007)
- Guidelines Adopted by CAA regarding the Hiring by Museums of Guest Curators, Exhibitors/Artists, and Catalogue Essayists as Outside Contractors (2002)
- Resolution concerning the Sale and Exchange of Works of Art by Museums (1991)
- Resolution concerning the Acquisition of Cultural Properties Originating in Foreign Countries (1973)
Visual Resources Professionals
- Criteria for the Hiring and Retention of Visual Resources Professionals (2003)
- Visual Resources Association: Statement on the Fair Use of Images for Teaching, Research, and Study (2011)
Archive and Library Professionals
- Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries, Association of Research Libraries (2012)
