The author demonstrates that restoration is a cultural problem first, a technical one second. Indeed, recognizing, identifying, and assessing the value of the object to be preserved must occur before any intervention can be decided upon. The author surveys successively the problem of the additions or modifications a work of art has undergone through the centuries; the fashion of safeguard for artworks; the danger of the proliferation of exhibits; the destruction due to ignorance in matters of the formal values of color in architecture; the dangers of radical cleanings, etc. In conclusion, the author sketches a broad outline for a cultural policy of restoration, including the need to recognize the status of restorers and to sensitize the public by disseminating information at a widely accessible level.