For New Leader of the Arts Endowment, Lessons From a Shaky Past

Although it may be hard to remember now, there was a time when the National Endowment for the Arts seemed to be on solid footing, both financially and politically, and could spend its days quietly financing artists and arts groups at its discretion. After the Republican sweep of Congress in 1994, it was only a matter of time — just about a year — before the N.E.A.'s overall budget was cut by 40 percent, to $99.5 million for 1996, from $162.3 million, and its ability to finance potentially divisive artists (with the exception of some literary writers) was eliminated. For a while there, it seemed as if the agency might not survive. But it did, thanks partly to the efforts of successive leaders, partly to the gradual fading of the culture wars from public consciousness. And now, as the NEA's chairman-designate, Rocco Landesman, awaits his confirmation (his proposed nomination is expected to be approved before the Congressional recess in August), he looks likely to start the job on firmer ground than any of his recent predecessors. In June a House subcommittee approved a $170 million budget for the endowment for next year, an increase of $15 million from the current budget and $9 million more than President Obama, widely considered an avid arts supporter, had requested.