History of Museums Timeline

The Gweagal Shield, thought to be a very significant shield taken from Botany Bay in April 1770, is one of many Indigenous artifacts now held in Western museums whose return has been demanded by source communities.

Image source: Gweagal shield

The Parthenon marble sculptures were taken from Greece by Lord Elgin in 1805 and remain one of the most famous examples of disputed museum holdings and calls for repatriation.

Image source: Elgin Marbles

Since 1868, several monolithic human figures known as Moai have been removed from Easter Island and put on display in major Western museums such as the National Museum of Natural History, the British Museum, the Louvre, and the Royal Museums of Art and History.

Image source: Moai

UNESCO and Blue Shield International serve as international partners for museums under the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property from 1954 and its Second Protocol from 1999, protecting heritage in armed conflict.

Image source: Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict

In the United States, the repatriation of human remains from museum collections is shaped by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), enacted in 1990, requiring museums to return remains and cultural items to Native communities.

Image source: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

In the United Kingdom, the Human Tissue Act 2004 allows national museums to return human remains under certain conditions, and several institutions have since repatriated remains to Indigenous communities, including those in Australia.

Image source: Human Tissue Act 2004

Blue Shield conducted extensive missions to protect museums and cultural assets in armed conflict, including in Egypt and Libya in 2011, Syria in 2013, and Mali and Iraq in 2014.

Image source: Blue Shield International

The 2018 report on the restitution of African cultural heritage is a prominent example regarding the decolonization of museums and other collections in France and the claims of African countries to regain artifacts illegally taken from their original cultural settings.

Image source: Report on the restitution of African cultural heritage

In the 19th century, museums focused mainly on scientific research and organizing collections, especially natural history specimens, reflecting the era's emphasis on classification and scholarship.

Chinese visitors in the early 19th century named Western museums based on what they contained, defining them as 'bone amassing buildings', 'courtyards of treasures', 'painting pavilions', 'curio stores', 'halls of military feats', or 'gardens of everything'.

The British Museum became increasingly popular during the 19th century among all age groups and social classes, who visited especially on public holidays, demonstrating the growing public appetite for museums.

A period of intense museum building, both intellectual and physical, was realized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often called 'The Museum Period' or 'The Museum Age'.

In the early 20th century, museums focused on collecting, studying, and preserving artifacts, with an emphasis on scientific research and authenticity.

John Cotton Dana detailed the process of founding the Newark Museum in a series of books in the early 20th century so that other museum founders could plan their own institutions.

Image source: The Newark Museum of Art

Drawing on Michel Foucault's concept of liberal government, Tony Bennett suggested that modern 19th-century museums were part of new strategies by Western governments to produce a citizenry that monitored and regulated its own conduct rather than being directed by coercive forces.

In the 21st century, museums focus on being accessible and inclusive. While not every museum participates in this trend, it appears to be the trajectory of museums in the twenty-first century with its emphasis on inclusiveness.

After opening, one Spanish museum attracted over 1.1 million visitors in 2015, with 63% coming from outside Spain, illustrating the international draw of major cultural institutions in the 21st century.

Image source: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

UNESCO's 2015 Recommendation underscores the need to combat illicit trafficking and promote sustainable conservation methods, such as climate-controlled storage and digital archiving.

Image source: UNESCO

The International Council of Museums adopted its current definition of a museum in 2022: 'A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage.'

In the United States, labor unrest within the arts and cultural sector goes back nearly a century to 1933, when a New York-based collective of artists eventually known as the Artist's Union used collective bargaining to win state relief for unemployed artists.

Image source: Artists Union

In the latter half of the 20th century, reduced government funding pushed museums to rely more on private support and focus on attracting visitors to generate revenue.

As of 2009, funding for United States museums came from four major categories: government support at all levels (24.4%), private charitable giving (36.5%), earned income (27.6%), and investment income (11.5%).

Government funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the largest museum funder in the United States, decreased by $18.260 million between 2011 and 2015 when adjusted for inflation, pushing museums toward other revenue sources.

Image source: National Endowment for the Arts

In 2016, the average spent per visitor in an art museum was $8 between admissions, retail sales, and dining, whereas the average expense per visitor was $55, highlighting persistent financial challenges for museums.

Image source: Art museum

Corporate giving to the arts was projected to increase by 3.3% in 2017, offering some relief to museums facing declining government support.

Image source: Philanthropy

In 2019, workers in multiple museums voted to form unions, with more protests pressing for fair contracts and against unfair labor practices across the cultural sector.

Image source: Trade union

The Marciano Art Foundation, established by Guess clothing co-founders Maurice Marciano and Paul Marciano, closed indefinitely in November 2019 after workers attempted to unionize.

Image source: Marciano Art Foundation

Security guards at the Seattle Art Museum formed an independent union in 2021 and achieved a contract following their strike in 2024.

MASS MoCA workers formed their union in April 2021 and later secured a contract after a prolonged strike in 2024, marking a milestone in museum labor organizing.

In the country of Georgia, 40 museum employees were fired in May 2022 as part of a restructuring, drawing attention to labor conditions in the cultural sector.

Image source: Georgia (country)

Workers at the Science Museum of Minnesota formed a wall-to-wall union in 2023 and ratified their first contract in 2025, continuing the wave of museum labor organizing.

Image source: Science Museum of Minnesota

At the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), unionized staff held a three-week strike in March 2024, resulting in a new contract with higher minimum wages, increased base pay, and improved overtime and holiday pay.

Image source: Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art

In December 2024, security guards at the Natural History Museum, Science Museum, and Victoria & Albert Museum organized a coordinated strike and picketing in the United Kingdom, seeking higher pay, sick leave from the first day of employment, and additional annual leave.

Image source: Natural History Museum, London

At the Seattle Art Museum, security guards went on strike for 11 days in December 2024, which led to their first contract and wage increases.

Image source: Seattle Art Museum

In February 2025, Brooklyn Museum workers from UAW Local 2110 and Local 1502 of District Council 37 rallied outside the museum to protest the planned termination of 47 employees.

Image source: Brooklyn Museum