My thesis focuses on deaccessioning. It means the permanent removal of a work of art from a collection and it is used in the management of unsustainable public collections. Through historical research, I examine what collection traditions and ethical issues make the attitudes towards deaccessioning more complicated depending on geographical location and history, and I explore the legal framework regulating it. My hypothesis is that in a physically finite world continuous growth is not sustainable, so fine art institutions must also review their collections with a critical approach, let go of the belief that canons are unchangeable and must not see deaccessioning as a stigma.