Federally-funded museums receive about 30 percent of their funds from private sources, but as Katherine Boyle notes, the shutdown may cause those donors to be less generous in the future:
This week, the National Gallery of Art turned away the prime minister of Greece, Antonis Samaras, and Adrienne Arsht, the philanthropist who underwrote the gallery’s most recent blockbuster exhibition, “Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes.” Samaras was supposed to view a Byzantine art exhibit co-sponsored by groups from his country. Arsht was set to throw a large party for patrons who wanted to visit “Diaghilev” one last time. Both were canceled due to the government shutdown.
And therein lies a lesson about why the shutdown is even worse for Washington’s museum sector than you might think. In short: The Smithsonian and other federally funded museums rely in significant part on private funding – but the shutdown inhibits their ability to raise even the private funds. … One of the big selling points at the Smithsonian and the National Gallery is that these museums are funded by the federal government, and because of that, will always be free and open to visitors who otherwise couldn’t afford an entrance fee of $15 or more. Shutdowns are a reminder that there are drawbacks to federal reliance, and that Smithsonian leadership is beholden to the whims of Congress. Prolonged closure could lead some patrons to send their gifts to the Met or MoMA …
(Photo: Tourists peer into the closed Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on October 5. By Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)
The Dish 