New York - The US has always been proud of the fact that for decades its museums, theatres and concert halls have lived almost exclusively off private donations.
But the financial crisis has caused the winds to shift, which means some money sources could run dry.
Small cultural facilities now fear for their survival and the traditional establishments face an uncertain future.
"We know there's a storm at sea and we know it's going to hit land. But we don't know how hard it will be or when it's coming," said Glenn Lowry, director of New York' Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), in the New York Times.
MoMA, one of the flagships of the visual arts in the US, recently imposed a hiring freeze, and this year's budget has been reduced by 10 per cent. Other museums have had to do the same.
The Contemporary Museum of Art in Honolulu, Hawaii, has to lay off 25 people, more than half its workforce. Director Georgianna Lagoria cut her own salary by 15 per cent.
The arts depend enormously on private money in the US.
In 2006, for example, Americans donated 12.5 billion dollars to cultural institutions, while state support was only a fraction of that amount. The National Endowment for the Arts, a federally funded agency that supports the arts, was recently granted 145 million dollars, but it had to fight hard in Congress to get the appropriation.
In Germany, by comparison, the federal government, state governments and local governments give a total of 10 billion dollars to the arts.
Among the large traditional benefactors in the US are banks, which have been the worst hit in the current financial crisis.
Three credit institutes were on the Forbes 2007 list of the 10 most generous enterprises.
The collapse of Lehman Brothers was the toughest blow: according to the financial news service Bloomberg, it donated 39 million dollars to the arts last year.
Renowned projects such as the Brice Marden Retrospective in MoMA and the Jackson Pollock show No Limits, Just Edges in New York's Guggenheim Museum were among those that received donations from Lehman Brothers.
From the Dallas Museum of Art to the Miami Art Museum, numerous art facilities across the country received regular contributions. But it's all come to a halt.
In addition, the fate of about 3,500 contemporary works of art, displayed in investment bank offices around the world, is uncertain.
Experts predict that at least a portion of the art, including works by Mark Rothko, Jasper Johns and Jackson Pollock, will be sold for cash.
And according to a report in the trade magazine artnet, Lehman Brothers chairman Richard Fuld and his wife Kathy want to sell a few items from their private jewelry collection at Christie's autumn auction on November 12 in New York. Their estimated price is 15 million to 20 million dollars.
Donations from companies are not the only thing concerning the art world in light of the current financial uncertainty.
Numerous private patrons could put a tighter hold on their wallets.
"We are competing with buying gas and going out to dinner," said Michael Govan, director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Eight million dollars of the museum's annual budget comes from donations given by people who belong to the museum support organization.
In return the members receive discounts on entrance tickets and invitations to special events.
Many museums have such support organizations. MoMA's in New York, for example, has 115,000 members who pay an annual membership fee ranging from 50 dollars to 60,000 dollars.
The true effect of the financial crisis on donating to the arts will be foreseeable only at the end of the year, according to people knowledgeable about arts donations. That's because tax-deductible donations must be made by then.
Despite all the worry, the financial crisis possibly could result in sinking prices for art, which could be an advantage for museums.
"Maybe we'll finally be able to afford to buy things," said Govan.
