Meanwhile, an economic downturn had dammed the sources of private philanthropy. These circumstances put new pressures on curators, administrators and museum educators. No longer could they afford merely to be hermit scholars, courtiers to the rich and social directors for the ladies of leisure who volunteered their time as docents. It became clear that you had to know how to raise money. Recent media reports of looted nazi art turning up in distinguished museum collections underscore this concern.
Mistakes involving stolen art can be very costly to art institutions.
The Getty made front-page news in February when it decided to return to the Italian government three ancient artifacts, including one Greek vase of major importance to the collection. The artifacts were acquired individually and in good faith over the past 17 years. While investigating unsubstantiated claims that the antiquities had been excavated illegally or stolen, Getty curators independently determined that the accusations were indeed valid. The changing status of the museum studies degree reflects this maturing of the profession. Twenty years ago, a museum studies degree was frowned upon as unscholarly, technical, a waste of time.