State Art and Artifacts Indemnity: A Solution without a Problem

Prices for art works have risen enormously in recent years. For a museum to bring a major exhibition to the public often depends on the costs involved in insuring it. The Federal Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act provides some relief from these expenses. Additionally, three states, Florida, Iowa, and Texas, have enacted similar statutes to aid their museums in hosting exhibitions not covered by the federal act. Do these state statutes really fill a need, and, if so, why do so few museums seem interested in them? The author concludes that state indemnity will help exhibitors and that disinterest on the part of museums may stem more from a lack of information than from indifference