From Athens to New York via Madrid. The Consequences of the 1931 Congress on the Cultural and Museum Policies Pursued by the Office International des Musées

Abstract

The Athens Conference on the Restoration of Historic Monuments and Buildings, held in October 1931, marked an important chapter in the work of the Office International des Musées (OIM). The aim of this paper is to examine the initial articles produced which addressed the theme of the conference, published in the journal Mouseion, and demonstrate how they influenced the way in which the OIM approached the organisation of two subsequent conferences, one held in Madrid in 1934 – in particular the section on the adaptation of ancient buildings for museum purposes, assigned to Italy – and another, on the social role of museums, which was planned for 1939, but the event did not come to fruition.