This study examines the threats faced by artworks in museums that are at risk, not only in terms of their physical dimensions but also within the framework of authenticity issues, market pressures, and the impacts of museum management decision-making processes on collections. Today, museums are required to sustain their responsibility for safeguarding cultural heritage under increasingly complex environmental, socio-economic, and institutional conditions. This situation necessitates an understanding of risk management in the protection of artworks not merely as a technical practice, but as a comprehensive and managerial process.

In this study, the concept of risk is analyzed under the categories of human-induced, technical, managerial, and natural factors, and is evaluated in light of international conservation models (ICOM, ICCROM, and CCI) as well as selected case studies from Türkiye. The research demonstrates how inappropriate exhibition, storage, and transportation practices can adversely affect the physical condition of artworks, and discusses how incorrect restoration practices, insufficient documentation, and the lack of scientific analysis deepen problems related to authenticity. In addition, the study addresses how the increasing market value of artworks can trigger risks such as theft, illicit trafficking, and the deaccessioning of works from public collections, highlighting the ethical tensions created by these pressures in relation to museums’ public responsibilities.

The main finding of the study is that risks affecting artworks in museums are largely connected to managerial decisions, institutional capacity, and the lack of sustainable policies. In this context, the institutionalization of a risk-based management approach, the strengthening of documentation systems, and the development of scientific infrastructure are proposed as fundamental strategies for the sustainable preservation of art collections.