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
- Guidelines for Curatorial-Studies Programs (2009)
- MFA Standards (2008)
- Standards for the AFA Degree in Studio Art (2011)
- Standards for the BA and BFA Degrees in Studio Art (2011)
Career and Workplace
- Artist Résumé (2012)
- Curriculum Vitae for Art Historians (2003)
- Curriculum Vitae for Museum Professionals (2000)
- Curriculum Vitae for Visual Artists (2012)
- Etiquette for CAA Interviewers (2006)
- Guidelines for Part-Time Professional Employment (2004)
- Standards for Professional Placement (2012)
Ethics
- Code of Ethics for Art Historians and Guidelines for the Professional Practice of Art History (1995)
- Information about Museum Ethics and Professional Practices (2013)
- Statement on Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality (2011)
Legal Issues
- Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries, Association of Research Libraries (2012)
- Copyrights and Permissions in Scholarly and Educational Publishing (under review)
- Guide to the New York Print and Photograph Law (1982)
- Printmakers Contracts (1978)
- Promotion of Distance Education through Digital Technologies (1999)
- Public Art Works (1987)
- Quick Guide to Artists’ Rights under the New Copyright Law (1977)
- Visual Resources Association: Statement on the Fair Use of Images for Teaching, Research, and Study (2011)
Best Practices
Artists and Faculty in Visual Art and Design
- Guidelines for Faculty Teaching in New-Media Arts (2007)
- Professional Practices for Artists (2011)
- Slide Labeling (1999)
- Standards for Retention and Tenure of Art and Design Faculty (2011)
- Standards for Sculptural Reproduction and Preventive Measures to Combat Unethical Casting in Bronze (2013)
- The Use of Animal Subjects in Art: Statement of Principles and Suggested Considerations (2011)
- The Use of Human Subjects in Art: Statement of Principles and Suggested Considerations (2011)
- Works in New Media: Recommendations for the Formatting, Handling, and Screening of Works (2000)
Art Historians
- Authentications and Attributions (2009)
- Code of Ethics for Art Historians and Guidelines for the Professional Practice of Art History (1995)
- Peer Review in Publications (2011)
- Standards for Retention and Tenure of Art Historians (2010)
- Statement on the Importance of Documenting the Historical Context of Objects and Sites (2004)
Academic Art Administrators
Museum Professionals
- Guidelines Adopted by CAA regarding the Hiring by Museums of Guest Curators, Exhibitors/Artists, and Catalogue Essayists as Outside Contractors (2002)
- Information about Museum Ethics and Professional Practices (2005)
- Professional Practices for Art Museum Curators (2007)
- Resolution concerning the Acquisition of Cultural Properties Originating in Foreign Countries (1973)
- Resolution concerning the Sale and Exchange of Works of Art by Museums (1991)
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)
