From the Museum of Modern Art in New York to the Tate in London, this book examines the ways in which major international museums, galleries and arts-funding bodies address their roles in relation to wider cultural and political issues such as education, public accountability and avant-gardism. A series of case studies provide information about the origins and development of a selection of significant art institutions, and a critique of display and management within cultural organizations. It also sets out the major debates in this field, including the fundamental question as to what actually consititutes an institution.