From 1992 to 1996, Gaehtgens was president of the Comité International d'Histoire de l'Art (CIHA), which is supported by the Association of Art Historians.
[3] In 1997, he founded, with German, French, and Swiss colleagues, the Deutsches Forum für Kunstgeschichte in Paris (Centre Allemand d'Histoire de l'Art de Paris), which organizes conferences, symposia, and workshops, undertakes research projects, and has published many books on art.
In 2009, Gaehtgens received the Grand prix de la francophonie of the Académie française[8] and in 2011 an honorary doctorate from the Paris-Sorbonne University.
[9] In 2009, he published the first issue of the Getty Research Journal, which features the work of established and emerging art historians, museum curators, and conservators around the world as part of the Getty's mission to promote critical thinking in the presentation, conservation, and interpretation of the world's artistic legacy.
[11][12][13] According to James Cuno, "Professor Gaehtgens is a committed internationalist, at home in German, French, and English, with students and scholar colleagues around the world sharing his internationalist values and joining him on research and professional projects that advance our common understanding of our world's shared artistic legacy.