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In this chapter, we examine the commercialization of art museums by looking at trends and patterns of revenue and expenditures as well as other financial indicators over time. Commercialization involves greater reliance on earned income relative to other forms of revenue, such as donations and government grants. In the case of museums, earned income includes fees, sales, and charges that are related or unrelated to the charitable purpose of the organization. We first explore possible reasons for, and characteristic elements of, commercialization, and then look for patterns that might help explain whether (and if so, why) art museums have become more commercial over time. For the main part of this analysis, we make use of the tax returns (Forms 990) of the largest US museums at five different points in time between 1982 and 1992. Over the past three decades the museum field has undergone major changes …