Unlock the White House Watch watch newsletter for free
Your guide on what the US elections of 2024 mean for Washington and Le Monde
Elon Musk’s cost reduction team has watched the National Gallery of Art, while the so-called Ministry of Effectiveness of the Billionaire Government goes beyond federal agencies to target the pillars of the cultural life of the United States.
Emissaries of Doge According to familiar people, the first cultural institution of Washington DC – which houses world class collections of European and American art – and met the management of the museum, according to people familiar with the question, despite the gallery which ostensibly operated on the length of the house in the white house.
DOGE's intentions to the National Gallery are not yet clear and an initiative representative has not responded to a comment request.
But Doge's decision comes when the Trump administration is expanding an assault against the cultural institutions of the United States as part of its war against the so-called “awakening” ideology. The president last month published a decree entitled “Restoring the truth and mental health” which targeted the Smithsonian institution for its representations of race and sex.
Trump also took control of the Kennedy Center – the largest and most important place of the most prominent arts in Washington DC – committing that there would be “no more dragster shows or other anti -American propaganda” on the site. This decision caused an artists and artists award.
The National Gallery has so far escaped the anger of the administration. The members of the new cabinet even celebrated the inauguration of Trump on the site in January.
Following donations of paintings and sculptures of old masters of the secretary of the Treasury and Prodigious Collector Andrew Mellon, the gallery was officially created by the Congress in 1937. It is led by a council made up of chief judge of the American Supreme Court, John Roberts, of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of State and five Directors.
However, the big major part of the National Gallery financing comes from the annual federal budget – which DOGE has promised to cut from 1 TN.
During the last financial year, the museum received nearly $ 210 million from the US government, which enabled the institution to pay wages and maintain admission for everyone.
In January, the National Gallery deleted references to the diversity and inclusion of its website, after an executive decree signed by Donald Trump deemed such “illegal” initiatives. This decision occurred only a few months after the gallery asked the congress more funds, in part to ensure that it could “focus on diversity, equity, access and inclusion” and diversify its collection to “include more artists and under-represented groups”.
In a statement responding to Doge's visit, the National Gallery stressed that it was an “independent trust establishment in the United States created by an act of congress in 1937”.
“As a public-private partnership, we have worked with all the administrations since our creation and will continue to work with the administration and the congress while we remain concentrated on the realization of our mission to preserve and share artistic excellence with all the Americans,” he said.
