THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS 

1965 2000 

A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPOR T FOR THE AR TS 
President Johnson signs the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, establishing the National 

Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, on September 29, 1965. 
The National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President 

Johnson in 1965. It states, “While no government can call a great artist or scholar into existence, it is necessary and appropriate for the Federal Government to help create and sustain not only a climate encouraging freedom of thought, imagination, and inquiry, but also the material conditions facilitating the release of this creative talent.” On September 29 of that year, the National 

Endowment for the Arts – a new public agency dedicated to strengthening the artistic life of this country – was created. 

Now, at thirty-five years of age, the NEA continues to carry out its 

public service mandate through its commitment to fostering America’s creativity and investing in our living cultural heritage. By supporting artistic excellence, forging partnerships, building more livable communities, promoting lifelong arts education, and improving access to the arts for all citizens, the agency strengthens American democracy at its core. 

This Chronology updates earlier versions published on the 20th and 30th anniversaries of the Arts Endowment, compiled to show how the agency came into being and evolved. It is not meant to be a definitive history of Federal arts support. Rather, it is an abbreviated version of the history and achievements of the Endowment. 

Forew

The thirty-five year public investment in the arts hadous dividends. Since 1965, the Endowment has awthan 111,000 grants to arts organizations and artists 

and the six U.S. jurisdictions. The number of state tional arts agencies has grown from 5 to 56. Local anow number over 4,000 – up from 400. Nonprofit grown from 56 to 340, symphony orchestras have in number from 980 to 1,800, opera companies hafrom 27 to 113, and now there are 18 times as manpanies as there were in 1965. 

Our arts are the hallmark of the creativity and diveAmerica strong. The Arts Endowment works diligenarts central to the lives of individuals, families and In the words of William James, “The greatest use of spend it on something that will outlast it.” As we emillennium, the National Endowment for the Arts ination’s creativity and cultural heritage, advancing cultural legacy for many future generations. Bill Ivey, Chairman 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
Chronology(1780-1965) 

1780 Act of Congress to provide “such books as may John Adams, in a letter to his wife, writes, “I be necessary for the use of Congress.” Art and must study politics and war, that my sons may music are included in the early collection. have liberty to study mathematics and philoso- 1817 phy, geography, natural history and naval archi­


tecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, The 14th Congress commissions John Trumbull


in order to give their children a right to study to paint four Revolutionary War scenes to hang
painting, poetry, music, architecture.”	 in the Capitol Rotunda, the first Federal support 

of the visual arts. 

1785 Thomas Jefferson writes to James Madison: 1826
“You see I am an enthusiast on the subject of John Trumbull, President of the American
the arts.” Academy of Fine Arts, proposes to President 

John Quincy Adams a “Plan for the Permanent 

1788 Encouragement of the Fine Arts by the National President George Washington declares that Government.”
both “arts and sciences are essential to the 1846
prosperity of the state and to the ornament and
happiness of human life.” After 10 years of deliberation, Congress accepts


the bequest of the late James Smithson, and 

1790 establishes the Smithsonian Institution.
Establishment of the United States Marine Band 1859
marks the first Federal support of a permanent
musical ensemble. President James Buchanan appoints a National


Arts Commission to promote the arts, but it is 

1800 disbanded two years later because of a lack of The Library of Congress is established by an Congressional appropriations. 

1879 Representative Samuel J. Cox duces a Joint Resolution in Clish “a council on arts mattertaken. 1891 President Benjamin Harrison establishing the National CoMusic in New York City. One 

opens with Antonin Dvorak adirector. 

1897 A Congressional proposal is National Office of the Arts. N1899 The Utah Arts Institute is estabstate-created arts council in th1906 The Federal government accethe oriental art collection of Cwho also provides for a buildment. The Freer Gallery, part Institution, opens to the publ

6 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
Chronolog

1909 1935 1938 President Theodore Roosevelt appoints a 30- Public service employment programs are Senator Claude Pepper (D-FL) member Council of Fine Arts, but it is shortly established under the Works Progress for the creation of a Bureau of disbanded due to lack of funds. Administration: the Federal Writers Program, bill is not reported out of com

the Federal Theater Project, the Federal Art 

1910 Project, and the Federal Music Project. More 1948–49 On May 17, President Taft and the Congress establish the Commission on Fine Arts “to 

than 40,000 artists are directly employed by the government. The country’s first local arts ag

lished: the Quincy Society of F

advise generally upon questions of art.” It deals primarily with the architectural appearance 

1937 

Illinois and the Winston-Salein North Carolina. 

of Washington, D.C. Andrew W. Mellon donates his art collection to 

the United States, pledges funds for construc- 1949 

1913 The National Institute of Arts and Letters is incorporated under a Federal charter by an Act of Congress. The American Academy of Arts 

and Letters is incorporated three years later, and both organizations merge in 1976. 

1934 

tion of the National Gallery of Art, and creates an endowment for the Gallery, which opens to the public in 1941. 1937 In Congress, Representative William I. Sirovich (D-NY) introduces legislation to establish a Department of Science, Art & Literature to be 

Congressman Jacob K. Javits (RHouse Joint Resolution 104 in to provide for a national theateand national ballet. Javits stresstalking about a physical structuintegrated, country-wide organthe Federal government.” The reported out of committee. 

President Franklin D. Roosevelt establishes the 

headed by a Cabinet-rank officer. Later in the year, Representative John M. Coffee (D-WA) 1951 

Treasury Department’s Section on Painting and introduces a bill to establish a Bureau of Fine President Harry S. Truman askSculpture, the first government bureau involv- Arts. Neither proposal is reported out of com- on Fine Arts to investigate waying the arts, which assigns artists to decorate mittee. arts could be helped by the FedFederal buildings around the country. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
Chronology (1780-1965) 

1953 The Commission on Fine Arts reports to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, recommending that a cultural center be established in Washington, D.C., under the jurisdiction of the Federal government. 1955 President Eisenhower, in his State of the Union address, advocates the establishment of a Federal Advisory Commission on the Arts: “In the advancement of the various activities which would make our civilization endure and flourish, the Federal government should do more to give official recognition of the importance of the arts and other cultural activities.” 1955 Numerous bills to support the arts are introduced in Congress over the next several years, but no action beyond limited hearings is taken. Nelson Rockefeller, then Undersecretary of Health, Education and Welfare, pushes for the establishment of a National Council on the Arts but is unsuccessful with Congress. 

1958 President Eisenhower signs P.L. 85-874 to establish a national cultural center for the performing arts. Thirteen years later, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opens in Washington, D.C. 1960 The New York State Council on the Arts is founded by Governor Nelson Rockefeller. February 9, 1961 Representative Frank Thompson (D-NJ) introduces H.R. 4172 to establish an advisory council on the arts, within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, that would coordinate private and government arts activities. Hearings are held, but the bill is defeated in the House. September 2, 1961 President John F. Kennedy appoints Roger L. Stevens as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Cultural Center. 

March 1962 President Kennedy appoints Aas his Special Consultant on him to prepare a report on between the arts and the FedeJanuary 14, 1963 Senator Javits (R-NY) introdu“to establish a United States Foundation.” Initial co-sponsoJoseph Clark (D-PA), Hubert (D-MN), and Claiborne Pell April 11, 1963 Senator Humphrey introduceestablish a National Council National Arts Foundation to and development of the arts States.” Initial co-sponsors arJohn Sherman Cooper (R-KY)Long (D-LA), Lee Metcalf (D-Randolph (D-WV), Abraham and Hugh Scott (R-PA). 

8 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
Chronolog

May 28, 1963 nition of the place of the artist. If art is to nour- Foundation to assist in the groAugust Hecksher submits his report, The Arts and the National Government, which recommends the establishment of an Advisory 

ish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. 

ment of the arts in the United January 23, 1964 

Council on the Arts and a National Arts “I look forward to an America which will President Lyndon B. Johnson sFoundation to administer grants-in-aid. reward achievement in the arts as we reward Resolution 136, renaming the 

achievement in business or statecraft. Center as the John F. Kennedy 

June 12, 1963 Performing Arts and designatinBy Executive Order 11112, President Kennedy 

establishes the President’s Advisory Council on the Arts. The President is assassinated before members can be appointed. 

“I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all our citizens.” 

official memorial in WashingtoMay 13, 1964 President Johnson names Roge

“We have agencies of the Government which are December 20, 1963 Special Assistant to the Preside

the first full-time arts advisor. 

concerned with the welfare and advancement of After hearings chaired by Senator Pell, science and technology, of education, recreation, Chairman of the Senate Special Subcommittee August 20, 1964 and health. We should now begin to give similar 

attention to the arts.” October 26, 1963 

on the Arts, the Senate passes S. 2379 which combines provisions of the two earlier bills, S. 165 and S. 1316, to establish a National Council 

on the Arts and a National Arts Foundation. 

H.R. 9586, to establish a Natiothe Arts, passes the House of Rby a vote of 213 to 135. The Sbill the following day on a voi

At the dedication of a new library at Amherst College and as a tribute to the poet Robert January 8, 1964 September 3, 1964 Frost, President Kennedy says: “I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recogIn the House, Representative Thompson intro- duces H.R. 9586 and H.R. 9587, both “to pro- vide for the establishment of a National Council on the Arts and a National Arts The National Arts and Cultura

Act of 1964 is signed by the Plishing the National Council oviding for a chairman, the Sec

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
Ch

ronology (1780-1965) 

Smithsonian ex officio, and 24 other members to “recommend ways to maintain and increase the cultural resources of the Nation and to encourage and develop greater appreciation and enjoyment of the arts by its citizens.” One month later, an appropriation of $50,000 is approved for the National Council on the Arts. December 2, 1964 President Johnson breaks ground for the Kennedy Center. “No act of Congress or Executive Order can call a great musician or poet into existence. But we can stand on the sidelines and cheer. We 

can maintain and strengthen an atmosphere to permit the arts to flourish, and those who have talent to use it. And we can seek to enlarge the access of all our people to artistic creation.” 

February–March 1965 Special subcommittees of both Houses of Congress (chaired by Pell in the Senate and Thompson in the House) hold hearings on legislation to establish a National Arts Foundation. 

February 23, 1965 President Johnson appoints 24 members and one ex officio member to the National Council on the Arts. March 10, 1965 President Johnson asks the 89th Congress to establish the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities. “This Congress will consider many programs which will leave an enduring mark on American life. But it may well be that passage of this legislation, modest as it is, will help secure for this Congress a sure and honored place in the story of the advance of our civilization.” Administration bills are introduced in both Houses of Congress by Pell and Thompson. March 11, 1965 Roger L. Stevens is appointed Chairman of the National Council on the Arts by the President. March 19, 1965 The Rockefeller Brothers Fund issues the results of a two-year study entitled The Performing 

Arts: Problems and Prospects number of recommendationsthat states: “. . . while private remain dominant, the Federal together with state and local should give strong support to the performing arts, by approof their importance, by direcencouragement, and by finanNancy Hanks is director of th

Project staff that compiles the 

April 9–10, 1965 The first meeting of the Natiothe Arts convenes at the WhiPresident Johnson swearing i“Our civilization will largely works of our creation. There which speaks across the gulf man and nation from nation, century. That quality confirmcommon hopes may be more our conflicting hostilities. Eveaffairs are struggling to catch insights of great art. The stakes may well be the stion.” 

10 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE A

RTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
June 10, 1965 

The Senate debates and passes an amended S. 1483 to establish a National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities. June 24–27, 1965 The second meeting of the National Council on the Arts is held in Tarrytown, New York. September 15, 1965 The House passes S. 1483, with amendments. The following day, the Senate agrees with House amendments and passes legislation establishing the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities as an umbrella for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities and their respective Councils. September 29, 1965 President Johnson signs P.L. 89-209, the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act. 

Chronolog

“Art is a nation’s most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal ourselves, and to others, the inner vision which guides us as a nation. And where there is no vision, the people perish.” Under this new law, Arts Council membership 

is increased to 26. The Chairman of the National Council on the Arts, Roger Stevens, becomes first Chairman of the Arts Endowment. Henry Allen Moe becomes the first Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

The Foundation is composed of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities, an interagency committee of Federal officials. The Foundation has no administrative or programming identity separate from its components. Each of the two Endowments is served by a respective advisory body, the National Council on the Arts and the National Council on the Humanities. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1966 

JULY 1, 1965-JUNE 30, 1966 

With its first appropriations bill signed October 31, 1965, the 

National Endowment for the Arts starts its fiscal year with only eight months remaining, a budget of $2.5 million, and fewer than a dozen employees. 

Over the course of the first year, six active programs begin: Music, Dance, Literature, Visual Arts, Theater and Education. Some 22 institutions and 135 individuals are funded. Roger Stevens says: “We believe that the time has come for 

Martha Graham, shown here in Lamentation in 1930, was one of eight master choreographers supported in the agency’s first year. Photo by Soichi Sunami. 

our society to give not merely ceremonial honor to the arts, but genuine attention and substantive support.” The third meeting of the National Council on the Arts is held on November 13-15, 1965, in Tarrytown, New York. The Council discusses whether to use outside panels and resolves that the Chairman 

“appoint committees of interested and qualified persons or organizations to advise the Council with respect to projects, policies or special studies as may be undertaken by the Council from time to time.” 

The Council also requests a feasibility study whicestablishment of the American Film Institute in 19individual grants for choreographers to create and works and theater performances for secondary schlaunched. On December 20, 1965, Vice President Hubert Hents a check for $100,000, representing the Endogrant, to the American Ballet Theatre. The New Y

Tribune reports: 

“The Treasury of the United States has saved a naNot directly, perhaps, but the taxpayers, through t

recently established National Council on the ArtsAmerican Ballet Theatre from extinction.” 

The National Council on the Arts holds its fourth time in Washington, D.C. The Martha Graham Darecommended for funding to make its first nationayears, and a grant also goes to the Robert Joffrey B“Dialogues on the Art of Poetry,” a poets-in-the-sc

ect, is launched by the Literature Program in schoNew York City, Detroit and Pittsburgh. 

12 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
Roger Stevens announces the receipt of $100,000 from the Martin 

Foundation, the first donation to the special Treasury Account, 

established under the Endowment’s legislation and requiring a 3-to-1 match in non-Federal to Federal funds. 

At the fifth meeting of the Council, the Federal-State Partnership Program, mandated by law to begin in Fiscal 

Year 1967, is 

launched, with $2 million to be made available to all 50 states and special U.S. jurisdictions. The first grants for non-profit professional theaters are recommended, and funds are set aside for art in public places. The Council discusses and later recommends ways to involve the United States in international arts events. A matching grant is made to provide a United States exhibit, assembled by the National Collection of Fine Arts of the Smithsonian Institution, at the September 1966 Biennale in Venice. 

The first Arts Endowment grant went to the American Ballet Theatre, shown here in a production of Symphonie Concertanta. Photo by Martha Swope. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE A

RTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1967 

JULY 1, 1966-JUNE 30, 1967 

F or its first full fiscal year of operation, the Endowment budget is $7,965,692 and new programs in Architecture, Planning & 

Design, Federal-State Partnerships, and Public Media are added. Expenditures include $1,007,500 for Theater, $892,780 for Education and $39,500 for Folk Arts. A Music Advisory Panel is 

established. Chairman Stevens warns that “there is at the present time, in the performing arts alone, an income gap of about $20 to $23 million per year. This figure will reach at least $60 million by 1975.” Stevens adds that “the Federal government cannot, and should not, be expected to carry the total burden. This must be a cooperative effort, to include private enterprise, foundations, state and municipal support, regional organizations and individual contributions.” The National Council, at its sixth meeting in Washington, D.C., recommends the first grants to individual creGrace Paley, the renowned short story writer, received a Fellowship from the Literature Program early in her career in 1967. Photo by Gentil & Heyers, ©1994. 

ative writers, three pilot museum projects, opera toevision programs and others. Performing Arts — The Economic Dilemma, by P

J. Baumol and William G. Brown, is published in The Twentieth Century Fund. The book supports tRockefeller Report and adds the sobering conclusneed of the performing groups for contributed funcontinue to grow ever larger.” 

At the December meeting of the National Counciof $1.3 million is set aside for an American Film Iseries of grants is made in the field of architecture 

program of individual grants for painters and scullaunched. 

Five months later at its May meeting in TarrytownCouncil formally recommends that the American established with $1.3 million from the Endowmenprivate donations of $1.3 million from the Ford Fo$1.3 million from the member companies of the MAssociation of America. The Music Program’s Aud

Development Project is established to fund presenconcert series for young or unknown artists, and g

14 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
mended to assist individual composers. The Literature Program 

offers assistance to non-commercial presses. The American Film Institute is established on June 5, 1967 as a non-profit, non-government corporation with George Stevens, Jr., as Director and Gregory Peck as Chairman of the Board. The AFI is to preserve and develop the nation’s artistic and cultural resources in film. On June 20, 1967, President Johnson requests the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities to prepare a report on the status of the nation’s museums. The Federal Council commissions the American Association of Museums to undertake this project. 

Created by the Endowment in 1967, the American Film Institute has been at the forefront of preserving America’s rich 

film heritage, including Broken Blossoms (1919) starring Lillian Gish. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE A

RTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1968 

JULY 1, 1967-JUNE 30, 1968 

Photo by Jack Mitchell. Dance Program since the 1960s. companies supported by the TheaterAlvin Ailey American Dancer Judith Jamison of the 

, one of the exemplary 

Dance 

he Endowment’s budget is $7.2 Tmillion and grants are made to 187

individuals and 276 organizations. Reauthorization for two more years of operation is approved by Congress despite some criticism about aiding the arts during the nation’s growing involvement in Vietnam. Two endeavors are added: a dance touring program and grants for museums to purchase the works of living American artists. The “American Musical Digest” is launched with the Endowment’s support to strengthen music criticism through excerpting, 

translating and reprinting articles and reviews on American music and musicians from local, national and international publications. The first grant for regional arts programming goes to the Federation of Rocky Mountain States for an audience development project. The ninth meeting of the National Council on the Arts is held in July, 1967 in Los Angeles. Part of the discussion focuses on the 

conversion of the old Bell Telephone Laboratories on New York’s Lower West Side into a national artists’ housing center. An Endowment matching grant with the J.M. Kaplan Fund makes this project possible, and groundbreaking for Westbeth takes places on June 21, 1968. Six regional dance companies are recommended for support. At the next meeting of the Council in Washington, D.C., 

The creation of the White Hope by Hosupported by a ThJames Earl Jones, cJane Alexander anproduction by ArenD.C. Photo by Flet

support for literary festivals and grants to young wmended. The Endowment helps establish the TheaFund, and arts demonstration projects in New YorMinneapolis and Louisville are funded in partnersnewly formed AFL-CIO Council for Scientific, ProfCultural Employees. During that same autumn, at David Rockefeller and other corporate leaders, thCommittee for the Arts is established under the chC. Douglas Dillon to stimulate corporate support f

16 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
FISCA

The Endowment’s budget is $7.8 million with $326,750 going to Architecture,$641,627 going to Dance, $526,450 going to 

Education, $332,000 going to Literature, $861,620 to Music, $222,200 to Public Media, $1,007,600 to Theater, $336,800 to 

Silhouetted against a dramatic sky, La Grande Vitesse by Alexander Calder graces downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, through a 1967 grant from the Visual Arts 

Program. Photo by Jim Starkey. 

Visual Arts, $469,550 to Coordinated Arts, and $1.7 million to Federal-State Partnership. Formal panels now adjudicate applications in the majority of programs. A $100,000 transfer from the Office of Education in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to the 

Endowment’s Education Program initiates a program placing visual artists in secondary schools. In November, the 

Conditions and Needs of America’s 

Museums (The Belmont Report) is sent to President Johnson by the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities. 

On January 20, 1969, Richard M. Nixon is sworn in as President of the United States. Roger Stevens’ term expires as first Chairman of the Endowment on March 11. In June of 

that year, Leonard Garment is named Special Consultant to the President, and his duties include the arts and the humanities. The Rockefeller Foundation matches an $85,000 grant from the Public Media Program to the National Educational Television Network to complete the presentation of four plays by four resident professional theater companies on public television. 

An Art in Public Places grant from the Visual Arts Program made possible the dedication of Isamu Noguchi’s Black Sun in Seattle in 1969. 

1

JUL

9

Y 1

Merce Cunhere in Solo another Amgiant to recthe 1960s. Mitchell. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

19

JULY 1, 1969–JUNE 30, 1970 

70

Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, received an Endowment Discovery Award on the 

basis of her first novel in 1970. Photo by Jean Weisinger. 

The Endowment budget, prepared under Chairman Stevens, is $8,250,000. This 

includes $4.25 million for programs, $2 million for state block grants, and an additional $2 million for the Treasury Account. 

Building on the success of the visual artistsin-residence project in 1969, the Artists-inSchools Program receives $900,000 from the U.S. Office of Education and brings more than 300 artists to elementary and secondary school students in 31 states. 

The Music Program expands to include pilot projects for jazz and orchestras. The Endowment provides $600,000 from the Treasury Account, matching private donations, to establish the National Opera Institute, a project initiated 

by Roger Stevens during his chairmanship. 

On October 6, 1969, Nancy Hanks is sworn in as Chairman of the Endowment by President Nixon. She says: “The arts, defined broadly, possess enormous potential for stimulating humaneness, economic health and new life in our communities. It is part of the 

essential idea of our country that the lives of the people should be 

advanced in freedom and in comprehension of thsoaring qualities of the spirit. This is not possible They are not a luxury; they are a necessity.” On December 10, 1969, President Nixon in a speCongress says: “The attention and support we givhumanities, especially as they affect our young pevital part of our commitment to the quality of life fPresident Nixon asks the Congress to reauthorize ments for another three years. A grant to the College Entrance Examination Board supported the establishment of three innovative Advanced Placement Courses, two in the visual arts and one in music. This is the first time that the arts have been included in the Board’s program for high school seniors, 

The Sheldon M

which provides college credit and in Lincoln, Neadvances students immediately grant from the beyond the introductory courses to open its new 

Photo courtesy 

offered college freshmen. Art Gallery. 

18 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
FISCA

The first budget under Chairman Nancy Hanks is $15.1 mil- lion, almost double that for Fiscal Year 1970. The Museum 

Program is launched, as is the Expansion Arts Program for professionally directed, community-based arts activities. A full program 

of support for symphony orchestras is put into place. The Visual Arts Program formalizes support for photography. 

Existing peer panels are expanded and additional panels are established for the Literature, Museum, Expansion Arts, Public Media and Special Projects Programs. As American Samoa matches its 

first grant, all 55 eligible state and jurisdictional arts agencies* are, for the first time, receiving Basic State Grants. 

On May 26, 1971, President Nixon addresses the Associated Councils of the Arts meeting in 

The Harlem School of the Arts Washington, D.C.: “The important received support from the thing now is that government has Endowment’s Expansion Arts accepted support of the arts as Program to fund its community-
based programs. Photo courtesy one of its responsibilities — not
Harlem School of the Arts. 

19

JULY 1

only on level, band locwell. Agovernmels see a respo

also as — for t

The Michigan Artrain brought works of art to ing recosmall towns and communities around the country during the 1970s. few inv

quality 

America pay off so handsomely as the money spenthe arts.” 

The President directs all federal agencies and execments to see how the arts can benefit their programtheir programs might assist artists. 

* American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1972 

JULY 1, 1971–JUNE 30, 1972 

he Endowment’s budget Tnearly doubles again — 

to $29,750,000 — and existing programs are expanded. Full programs of support are established for opera companies and for jazz. The Dance Program expands to offer assistance for regional 

Lee Provancha Day performs in development of resident profes-
 Sanctus, with choreography 
by Bruce Marks, for Ballet West, a sional companies. The Museum
dance company based in Salt Lake Program launches a major effort
 City that performs throughout the
Western States. Photo by Vinnie Fish. to support conservation and


renovation projects, enabling 

museums to preserve and care for their collections more effectively. The Public Media Program expands to include regional film center support. There are now 10 advisory panels. Nancy Hanks notes that panel members will serve on a rotating basis with terms of approximately three years. Under this new system, the first rotation occurs in July of 1972. 

President Nixon, acting on the responses to the 19Federal agencies and executive departments and the National Council on the Arts, announces govetives in design. The Arts Endowment is the lead agFederal Design Improvement Program, to help uparchitecture, design and graphics. 

Sculptor Harry Donohue in his studio working on his piece Civic Duty for the 1972 New 

Hampshire’s White Mountains Art & Music Festival, supported by the Expansion Arts Program. 

20 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
FISCA

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, toured the Midwest in the 1973 production by the Guthrie Theater Company, featuring Peter Michael Goetz as Lennie. Photo courtesy Guthrie Theater Company. 

The Endowment’s budget is now $38.2 million. Advisory panels now number over 200, including such wellknown individuals as Zelda Fichandler 

and Harold Prince in theater, Roy Lichtenstein and George Segal in visual arts, Julian “Cannonball” Adderly, Rise Stevens, Robert Shaw and Gian-Carlo Menotti in music, and Toni Morrison and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. in literature. 

The Visual Arts Program offers 

Craftsmen’s Fellowships. The Artrain, 

begun in Michigan in 1971 and supported by the Endowment, moves west to visit 30 towns in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Nevada. 

19

JULY 1

Photographer Lee Friedlander Fellowship from the Visual Ar

in 1973. This work is entitled 

After receiving a 1973 Photo courtesy of the artist. Fellowship from the Visual Arts Program, photographer William Wegman went on to renown for his whimsical portraits featuring Weimaraners. Photo courtesy of the artist. 

On April 2–3, 1973, the First Federal Design Assembly, sponsored by the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities, is held to increase the awareness by Federal administrators of the importance of good design. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1974 

JULY 1, 1973–JUNE 30, 1974 

he Endowment’s budget rises Tto $60,775,000. Programs are

allocated $46 million, state arts agencies $8.3 million, and $6.5 million goes to the Treasury Account. President Nixon signs another reauthorization, and Nancy Hanks is appointed for a second four-year term. During her 

Laurie Anderson received support first term, the budget increased by early in her career through a Visual 637 percent.
Arts Program Fellowship and is
now known around the world as a
composer/performer of multi-media A new effort is launched to
exhibitions. Photo by Robert expand and coordinate
Mapplethorpe. Endowment support for the folk 

arts. The City Options program is started to promote community cooperation in the design of future environments. The Artists-inSchools Program grows to 1,750 artists working in elementary and secondary schools in every state and special jurisdiction. The National Council on the Arts adopts a resolution encouraging greater accessibility of cultural activities for disabled individuals. The Endowment publishes Museums USA, the first comprehensive statistical study of the nation’s museums. 

A Bicentennial Committee of the National Council is established. Nancy Hanks says: “As we approach the 200th birthday of this nation, it is important to give thought to the kind of country we want to be in our third century and beyond, and to the deepening purpose of the arts in this projection for our future society.” In the spring of 1974, a special $1 million two-year grant is made to the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. This grant serves as a precursor of the Challenge Grant Program. 

The final mural by ThSources of Country Mwith an Endowment finished by the artist his death. Photo couCommission. 

A young Garrison Kestage as part of MinnPrairie Home Compthrough a 1974 granMinnesota Public Ra

22 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
FISCA

19

JULY 1

The Jazzmobile, sthe Endowment’s mobbed by scores this 1975 scene. 

As it begins its tenth year, the Endowment’s budget has risen to $74,750,000. More than 14,000 applications pour in from all 

over the country. Staffing is more than 250 people. 

Encouraged by the success of earlier specials featuring the American Ballet Theatre and the Alvin Ailey American Dance 

Theatre, an Endowment grant to the Educational Broadcasting Corporation (WNET-TV) initiates the “Dance in America” series on public television. The series premieres in January 1976 with a feature on the Joffrey Ballet. 

Beginning in Fiscal Year 1975, instead of authorizing a specific dollar amount for the state arts agencies as the original legislation had done, the reauthorization stipulates that no less than 20 percent of all program funds must go to the Stone Enclosure: Rock Rings is a commissioned work on the campus of state arts agencies and 

Western Washington University by “regional organizations,” with Nancy Holt, a 1975 Visual Arts Program 75 percent of this amount Fellowship recipient. 

being divided equally among 

the state arts agencies. Each of the 50 states and five jurisdictions is eligible to receive at least $200,000 to support local programs. The two-year City Spirit program is launched, with $2 million available in matching grants for cities, towns and neighborhoods to strengthen and showcase their own cultural heritage and creativity. In August 1974, President Gerald R. Ford is sworn an August 23rd letter to Nancy Hanks on the upcoFederal Design Assembly, President Ford says: “I firthat, in order to inspire the people’s pride in their Gwe must provide them with manifest evidence of itativity and efficiency by setting the highest standard al design, environmental planning and visual commThe National Assembly of State Arts Agencies is inc

September 12, 1974 to represent the common inte

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
state and jurisdictional arts agencies. It was preceded by the North 

American Assembly of State and Provincial Arts Agencies, an 

affiliate of the Associated Councils of the Arts established in June 1968. 

Later that fall, the Arts Endowment and the Exxon Corporation announce a joint venture to help Affiliate Artists develop young conductors for positions as music directors of American symphony orchestras. Exxon’s partnership with the Endowment is later extended to public television programs and other efforts. 

Two young aspiring artists, among the millions of children reached through the Endowment’s Arts in Education Program. 

24 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE A

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FISCA

The Federal government changes the parameters of its fiscal year so that it now begins on October 1 and ends the following September 30. The Endowment’s budget is $82 million for 

Fiscal 

Year 1976, and an additional $34 million is appropriated 

for July 1–September 30, 1976 as the “Transition Quarter.” 

Congressman Sidney R. 

Yates (D-IL) assumes chairmanship of the 

U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee with responsibility for the Endowments. 

The tenth anniversary of the Endowment is celebrated on September 29–30, 1975 at the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Austin, Texas. Participants include the National Council on the Arts, Lady Bird Johnson, Nancy Hanks, Hubert Humphrey, Jacob Javits, Kirk Douglas, James Wyeth, Robert Merrill and scores of others. Beverly Sills points out that although the Endowment’s budget has increased, “we Leontyne Price in the title


role of Verdi’s Aida at the cannot be complacent or satisfied


Metropolitan Opera in because there are a great many cities in New York City. Photo by this country that don’t give one nickel J. Heffernan. 

toward their own cultural institutions.” 

The Arts: 

Years of Development, Time 

of Decision, a report on the two-day symposium at the LBJ Library, is later published by the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. 

In December, President Ford signs into law S. 1800, the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act, authorizing the Federal government, under certain circumstances, to indemnify art, artifacts and other objects to be exhibited internationally. 

The Arts Endowment was an early supporter of the Smithsonian Institution’s Festival of American Folklife. From the 1976 festival, a Ghana weaver plies his craft. Photo by C. Desmarani. 

19

JULY 1TRANSJULY 1

The Arts Indinsures mastVermeer’s G

Earring (17th from their habroad to thfrom the RoyPaintings MaHague, traveGallery of AD.C. Photo Cabinet of PMaurishuis. 

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FISCAL YEAR 

1977 

OCT. 1, 1976–SEPT. 30, 1977 

The Endowment budget is $94 million and more than 300 panelists help judge the merits of applications from the field. 

The Media Arts Program sets up the Short Film Showcase to help present the works of independent filmmakers in commercial 

movie houses nationwide. 

On October 8, 1976, President Ford signs into law reauthorization for the Endowment for four more years. Chief Congressional sponsors are Congressman John Brademas (D-IN) and Senator 

Spoleto Festival U.S.A. audiences attend an afternoon concert at Charleston’s historic Dock Street Theatre, dating from 1736. The Spoleto Festival U.S.A. was founded with Endowment support in 1977. Photo by William Struhs. 

Claiborne Pell. Congress establishes the Institute of Museum Services to provide general operating support to museums. National Council members, for the first time, require Senate confirmation. Challenge Grants are authorized. Nancy Hanks notes: “Regardless of who the successful applicants are, the Endowment has injected a stimulus into the arts that will be felt 

far beyond the modest Federal funds expended. Olar can generate three or four private dollars, and those private contributors are likely to contribute Nearly 20 years later, Nancy Hanks’ expectations The Challenge Grant Program stimulates roughly every Federal dollar invested. In January 1977, Jimmy Carter becomes President States. Nancy Hanks serves the remainder of her sAfter 18 months of work, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies’ Federal-State Study Committee released in May a recommendation that “an ongoing, structured process of policy planning between the Endowment and the state arts agencies The 1977 touring prod

Madame Butterfly pro

be established on a formal, Cincinnati Opera ComEndowment-wide basis.” Sandy Underwood. 

26 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
The first White House Conference on 

Handicapped Individuals on May 23–27, 1977 focuses attention on the accessibility of cultural programs and facilities and the participation of disabled individuals in the arts. On July 16–17, the National Support the Arts Conference is held in Washington, D.C. to “find ways to help local arts institutions help themselves in their efforts to 

Vaquero captures the gain long-term stability and independ­ spirit of the West in 

Moody Park, Houston, ence,” Nancy Hanks tells the conference. an Art in Public Places
commission and the 
work of Visual Arts Later that summer, the first Round I
Fellow Luis Jimenez. Challenge Grants are announced. Fiftynine grants benefitting 66 organizations 

are funded at $27,345,000 over two years. In August, as one of her last acts at the Endowment, Nancy Hanks establishes a Task Force on the Education, Training and Development of Professional Artists and Arts Educators. 

At the August 12–14 meeting of the National Coun

a report from a year-long reassessment of the Federship calls for expansion of the partnership concept Federal, state, regional and local public arts agenciin national arts advocacy; and leadership in addresof new and minority constituencies. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1978 

OCT. 1, 1977–SEPT. 30, 1978 

he Endowment’s budget Tstands at $123,850,000. On

October 2, 1977, Nancy Hanks leaves the Chairmanship of the Endowment at the close of her second term. During her eight years, the Arts Endowment budget increased 1,400 percent. Vice President Walter Mondale’s 

wife Joan is named Honorary Chairperson of the Federal 

Recipient of a Composers Fellow- Council on the Arts and the ship from the Music Program in 1978, Morton Subotnick. Photo Humanities and takes an active courtesy Walker Art Center. role in promoting the arts. 

In November, the Endowment encourages the establishment of a 23-member task force to determine the needs of the Hispanic arts community in the U.S. and to recommend ways to strengthen its culture and relationship with the agency. Livingston L. Biddle, Jr. is sworn in on November 30, 1977 as third Chairman of the Endowment: “The arts. . . embark us on the oceans of self-discovery. They quicken our awareness. They 

In Live From Lincoln Center, the world-renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti dazzles millions of public broadcasting viewers in a telecast from the Metropolitan Opera House.
Photo by Francesco Scavullo. 

art of the highest quality.” During Fiscal 1978, he ceilings to give the advisory panels more discretiomending grant amounts. The agency’s administratorganized around three deputy chairmen: for ProgPlanning, and Intergovernmental Activities. He alson the terms of office for program directors. 

The Folk Arts Program, once part of Special Projeseparate program to support the preservation and 

28 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
traditional arts. The Opera-Musical Theater Program is created to 

help “broaden the concept of music theater and to make this art form available to an expanding audience.” The Office of Minority Concerns is begun to act as liaison between the Endowment and minority arts groups and artists. The number of grant applications reaches nearly 20,000. In the summer of 1978, the National Assembly of Community Arts 

Agencies, a committee within the Associated Councils of the Arts since the early 1970s, becomes an independent organization that represents the interests of local arts agencies. In 1982, it changes its name to the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies. 

William Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Featured in the 1978 production are (clockwise from bottom) Michael Bond, Stephanie Zimbalist, Brent Carver and Anthony Hopkins. Photo by Jay Thompson. 

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FISCAL YEAR 

1979 

OCT. 1, 1978–SEPT. 30, 1979 

The Endowment budget stands at $149,585,000, and the agency involves more than 500 panelists and 325 staff members. 

Annual state appropriations for the arts have increased from $2.7 million in 1966 to more than $80 million. The number of local arts agencies has increased from about 150 in 1966 to some 2,000. 

The Opera-Musical Theater Program is launched. The International Communications Agency (later the United States Information Agency) and the Arts Endowment agree to work together on American arts programs abroad. 

The Music Program recognizes choruses and chamber music as separate categories of need and support. A National Council on the Arts/National Assembly of State Arts Agencies Joint Policy Commission is established to advise the National The Goodman Theatre in Chicago 

mounted a 1979 revival of Richard Council on policy issues
Wright’s powerful drama, Native Son, involving the public arts
 directed by Gregory Mosher and featur­


ing Meshach Taylor as Bigger Thomas. agency partnership. 
Photo courtesy The Goodman Theatre. 

The Commonwealth Council for Arts and Culture of the Northern Mariana Islands becomes the 56th agency to receive annual Basic State Grant support. The second round of Challenge Grants is announced, and 102 awards totaling $30,730,500 are made to benefit 125 organizations. In December 1978, the Endowment establishes a Task Force on Community Program Policy to examine and make recommendations on the relationship between the Endowment, state and local arts agencies and arts organizations. 

The Meet the Comped in 1979, has helyoung artists work wresidence. Shown hcomposer with the Symphony Orchestschool students in hcourtesy Meet the C

Lorin Maazel and tOrchestra in perforon television. Photo 

30 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
FISCA

The Endowment’s budget is $154,610,000. A White House reception marks the 15th anniversary of the Endowment, and 

Chairman Biddle says: “Nothing is more enviable — or daunting 

— than the opportunity to make a practical reality out of a visionary dream. Yet today we see the phrases of the legislation that created the National Endowment for the Arts 15 years ago translated into goals, programs and accomplishments.” 

The Inter-Arts Program formalizes its support of arts presenters, artists’ colonies, services and interdisciplinary arts projects. The Folk Arts Program announces the establishment of National Heritage Fellowships to honor exemplary traditional artists. The Music Program offers support for festivals, recordings of American 

music, professional training, and 

Spalding Gray, writer and performer, solo recitalists. The Theater received an Endowment Fellowship Program extends its support of in 1980. Photo courtesy International playwrights, directors, designers Production Associates. 

and other theater artists through 

Short story writer extraordinaire Raymond Carver was the recipient of a Literature Program fellowship in 1980. Photo courtesy of Tess Gallagher. 

19

OCT. 1

fellowships and the residencies. The Office of FederaPartnership splits intState Programs, whicgrants to state and reagencies, and PartneCoordination, which other Federal arts prregional and local arprofessional arts orgaArtists-in-Schools Pro

into the Artists-in-Eduwith grants to state aartists’ residencies in other settings, pilot land other technical s

The first Advancement Grants, ranging from $20,00are given to a select group of Expansion Arts organiproduce excellent work in their field but need help institutions. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
At a White House reception for the arts on April 2, President 

Jimmy Carter says: “[G]overnment can provide nourishment to the ground within which these ideas spring forth from the seeds of inspiration within the human mind.” 

Two of America’s legendary dancers, Pearl Primus (in Hard 

Time Blues, 1943), and Katherine Dunham (in Rara Tonga, 

1937) bridge the generations as choreographers in the early 1980s. Photos by Gjon Mili, courtesy Joe Nash Dance Collection. 

32 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
FISCA

19

The Endowment’s budget is $158,795,000. The agency is reau­ thorized through Fiscal Year 1985. The Media Arts Program 

launches support on a regional basis for individual media artists. A record number of applications to the agency—27,000—is received. 

After the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan, the White House Conference on Aging is held on February 1–3, 1981. The Endowment sponsors a symposium focusing on the demand for and character of arts and humanities programs for older Americans. 

On June 5, 1981, President Reagan appoints a Presidential Task Force on the Arts and Humanities to review the purposes, activities and records of the Arts and Humanities Endowments. Co-chaired by 

Poet, essayist and novelist Annie Dillard actor Charlton Heston, Hanna received a Literature Program H. Gray, President of the Fellowship in 1981. Photo by Rollie University of Chicago, and McKenna. 

Daniel J. Terra, AmbassadorAt-Large for Cultural Affairs, the Task Force is asked to find methods of increasing private support for the arts and humanities. It is 

also charged with finding ways to bring more non-governmental professionals, private groups and individuals into the Endowment’s decision-making process and to recommend ways to improve the management, organization and structure of the two Endowments and the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. 

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, designed by architect Maya Lin, was made possible through the wisdom of a Design panel at the Arts Endowment. Photo courtesy Cooper Lecky Architects. 

OCT. 1

Novelicredits from thPrograhim to prize-wIronwePengui

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1982 

OCT. 1, 1981–SEPT. 30, 1982 

Due to the rising Federal budget deficit, the Endowment’s budget is cut 10 percent to $143,456,000. 

The first National Heritage Fellowships in the Folk Arts honor 15 outstanding folk artists. Later that fall, with the help of Endowment grants, the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies publishes All 

in Order: Information Standards for the Arts, which includes the National Standards for Arts Information Exchange. The Standards provide a basis for coordinated information management in the arts. 

On October 14, 1981, at a White House luncheon, President Reagan introduces to the Presidential Task Force on the Arts and the Humanities Frank Hodsoll, Deputy Assistant to the President, as his nominee for Chairman of the Arts Endowment. The Task Force Report recommends that the existing structure of the Endowments be kept; that the professional panel review 

The great Dizzy Gillespie was hon- systems be continued; that adjust­ ored in 1982 with the American Jazz Masters award from the Music ments in the tax code be made to Program. Photo by Martin Cohen. stimulate private philanthropy; and 

that coordination and cooperation among Federal, state and local arts agencies be strengthened. In accepting the Task Force 

Report, President Reagan says: “The Endowments, which began in 1965, account for only 10 percent of the donations to the arts and scholarship. Nonetheless, they have served an important role in catalyzing addiGeorgie Sicking 

Smith of Carson at the Cowboy Pannual event in ed through the FArts Program. Ph

tional private support, assisting excellence in arts letters, and helping to assure the availability of arand scholarship.” On November 13, 1981, following Senate confirmHodsoll is sworn in as the fourth Chairman of the Chief Justice Warren E. Burger. Former Chairmen and Biddle are present for the ceremony, which obeginning of the 70th meeting of the National CoChairman Hodsoll stresses that the Endowment’s “foster the excellence, diversity and vitality of the 

34 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
broaden the availability and appreciation of such excellence, 

diversity and vitality.” Hodsoll also prepares for longer-range support of the Challenge and Advancement Programs, improving and 

streamlining the Endowment’s administration and strengthening the public-private partnership. 

On June 15, 1982, President Reagan establishes the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities to help stimulate increased private support and to promote recognition of excellence in these fields. The Committee is comprised of up to 34 Federal and non-Federal members. Its Chairman is Andrew Heiskell, and the Vice Chairmen are Armand S. Deutsch and W. Barnabas McHenry. 

The National Heritage Fellowships were initiated in 1982. Among the first honorees was santos maker George Lopez of Cordova, New Mexico. Photo by T. Harmon Parkhurst, courtesy Museum of New Mexico. 

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FISCAL YEAR 

1983 

OCT. 1, 1982–SEPT. 30, 1983 

The Endowment’s budget rises slightly to $143,875,000. President Reagan says: “We support the work of the National 

Endowment for the Arts to stimulate excellence and make art more available to more of our people.” 

The Endowment initiates the Test Program of Support for Local Arts Agencies, to encourage more local government support for the arts while improving administration and planning. The Literature Program starts a project that publishes short stories in newspapers. Curriculum-based, sequential arts education from kindergarten through 12th grade becomes a priority for Chairman Hodsoll. A series of regional meetings is scheduled, and discussions with the J. Paul Getty Trust and others are begun to bring television more directly into the arts education process. The Challenge II Program is begun, and previous Challenge Program recipients are eligible again for support. The purpose of Challenge II is to stimulate improved balance sheets for the very best arts institutions. Advancement Grants are opened up to all the discipline fields. A new Dance on Tour Initiative begins in the 

Inter-Arts Program to assist state and regional arts agencies in increasing dance presentations nationwide. The Visual Arts 

Program begins assisting regional arts organizatiosion of fellowships for emerging visual artists. On January 7, 1983, the Endowment’s second ChHanks, dies after a long battle with cancer. Three January 26, President Reagan requests Congress to Post Office complex, which is to be the new homEndowments, the Nancy Hanks Center. On FebruPresident signs Public Law 98-1, the first bill of thstating: “This designation is particularly apt since the renovation of the Old Post Office, its occupancy this year by Federal cultural agencies and commercial enterprises and its exhibits are due in large measure to the foresightedness, persuasiveness, intellect 

A visitor at the Museo del Barr

and vigor of Nancy in the special exhibition on AfrHanks.” Puerto Rican art. Photo by Jose 

36 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
The Old Post Office Building is dedicated as the new home of the 

two Endowments, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the Institute of Museum Services, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation on April 19, 1983. At a White House luncheon on May 17 organized by the President’s Committee, President Reagan honors 12 artists and patrons for service to the arts. The President also asks Frank Hodsoll to explore with Congress the possibility of creating a medal to honor artists and patrons of the arts. The first National Symposium on Access to Cultural Programs for disabled and older individuals is sponsored by the Endowment and held July 13–16 at Indiana University in Bloomington. 

A 1983 Fellowship from the Literature Program helped novelist Bobbie Ann Mason write In Country, a prize-winning novel that was later made into a motion picture. Cover courtesy Harper & Row, Publishers. 

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FISCAL YEAR 

1984 

OCT. 1, 1983–SEPT. 30, 1984 

The Endowment’s budget is $162,223,000. Working in collabo­ ration with the American Film Institute, the Endowment helps 

establish the National Center for Film and Television Preservation. 

The Locals Test Program, in its first year of operation, distributes $2 million in Federal funds, which are to be matched by $9.7 million in newly appropriated state and local funds. Folk Arts 

Apprenticeships are begun through state arts agencies. The Theater Program begins a new Ongoing Ensembles category to assist groups of theater artists working 

Excellence in Federal Sam Maloof, an artist who together over design achievements, such works in wood, received time. The Dance as the design for the Linn an Endowment Visual Arts Program starts a Cove highway, were rec- Fellowship in 1984 and a ognized by the first MacArthur Fellowship in project placing Presidential Design 1985. Photo courtesy of choreographers Awards in 1984. the artist. with repertory 

dance companies to create new work. A Touring-Commissioning Initiative for major interdisciplinary work is begun in the Inter-Arts Program. The Office of International Activities is formalized. The American Association of Fundraising Counsel reports that in 1983 private contributions to cultural activities increased to $4.08 billion, an increase of 36 percent and $1 billion over 1981. Individuals continued in 1983 to provide the bulk of this support. 

Carmen de by Moneta was part of “A Century PhotographMuseum of 

On May 31, 1984, President Reagan signs into law the National Medal of Arts, authorizing the Presidto 12 medals a year to “individuals or groups who President’s judgment are deserving of special recoson of their outstanding contributions to the excesupport and availability of the arts in the United SMedals are to be based on recommendations of thCouncil on the Arts. 

38 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
FISCA

The National Endowment for the Arts is 20 years old. Its budget is $163,660,000. The Expansion Arts Program starts a 

Community Foundation Initiative to secure new private funds for smaller arts organizations. The Music Program consolidates and strengthens its support for music presenters nationwide. 

On December 11, 1984, Charlton Heston is appointed as Chairman of the Arts Endowment’s 20th Anniversary Committee, created to 

focus attention on the growth of public-private partnership support for the arts since the Endowment’s founding in 1965. In January 1985, First Lady Nancy Reagan agrees to serve as Honorary Chair of the 

Committee, which includes leading artists 

Sharon Lockwood, Wilma Bonet and Audrey and arts patrons who have Smith, part of the San Francisco Mime Troupe, perform Women Who Work in the Steelmills in served as members of the 

a 1985 production. Photo by Jeffrey Blankfort. National Council on the 

Arts. 

19

OCT. 1

President Reagan presents the first Presidential Design Awards to 13 

Federal projects in a variety of design areas. At a ceremony on January 30, 1985, the President states: “I believe it is fair to say that good design unites art with purpose, and is an essential part of all that goes to make our nation without peer.” 

During the Academy Awards presentation on March 25, 1985, the 

National Endowment for the Arts receives a special “Oscar” for its 20-year service to the arts. The first National Medals of Arts are presented on April 23, 1985 to seven artists and five arts patrons at a White House luncheon. 

yearEndowment’was first awadesigned by The National 

. 

s 

On August 3, 1985, the National Council on the Aconcept paper on arts education which proposes bscope of the Artists-in-Education Program. The prim

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
of the proposed change is to encourage arts education as a basic 

part of the curriculum, kindergarten through high school. 

During the presentation of the “Emmy” 

Awards on September 22, 

1985, the National Academy of 

Television Arts and Sciences recognizes the Arts Endowment on its 20th Anniversary. President Reagan recognizes National Arts Week, September 23–29, to celebrate the arts on the occasion of 

Choreographer Mark Morris, the Endowment’s 20th anniversary. recipient of a 1985 Dance Program Frank Hodsoll is nominated for a
Fellowship, in One Charming second term as Chairman.
Night. Photo by Lois Greenfield.


On September 29, 1985, the National Endowment for the Arts cel­
ebrates its 20th anniversary.


Tlingit performer Gary Waid beats the raven and eagle drum for the Naa Kahidi Theater, celebrating Native Alaskan culture, under the aegis of the Sealaska Heritage Foundation. Photo courtesy of Naa Kahidi Theatre. 

40 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE A

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FISCA

The Endowment’s budget is reduced to $158,822,240 pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 

1985. On December 20, 1985, the Endowment is legislatively reauthorized through Fiscal 1990. More than 4,500 grants are made for an aggregate of $146.6 million. Nearly 600 panelists convene to make the first round of recommendations. 

A 1986–87 grant to the Playwrights Horizons Theater supported the creation of Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisy. 

Shown here are Darrie Lawrence and William Hall, Jr. in the Repertory Theatre 

of St. Louis’s 1991 production. Photo courtesy of Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. 

Buying Time, an anthology celebrating 20 years of writing by Literature Program Fellowship recipients, is published by Graywolf Press. The Office for Special Constituencies in partnership with arts service organizations publishes three books: Design for Aging, Profiles in the Arts, and The Arts and 504, which serve as tools for arts organizations to reduce physical, 

The Media Arts Program funds a new television series on American artists, American Masters. Its first season includes profiles of architect Philip Johnson, writer Katherine Anne Porter, comic 

Charlie Chaplin, singer Billie Holiday, musical director James Levine, composer Aaron Copland, painters Thomas Eakins and Georgia O’Keeffe, and playwright 

19

OCT. 1

Traditional artist Bea Cexhibits her hand-crafwoven with Georgia Sgrass. 

attitudinal and programmatic barriers keeping older and disabled Americans from participating fully in the arts. 

Eugene O’Neill. It also features the collaborative pplaywright Arthur Miller, director Volker Schloendo

of the film version of Death of a Salesman. 

Chairman Hodsoll announces that beginning in FY Artists-in-Education Program will be broadened witencouraging serious and sequential study of the artbasic education. In the first year of the AIE Programof Arts-in-Schools Basic Education Grants, 42 states a

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1987 

OCT. 1, 1986–SEPT. 30, 1987 

The Endowment’s budget is $165,281,000. The NEA’s Research Division Note #28 reports that for two years running, admission receipts for nonprofit performing arts events exceed those for 

spectator sports. The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies reports that state arts 

appropriations for Fiscal Year 1987 reach $216.6 million, a record high. The National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies estimates that 

city and county government support of the arts will increase 109 percent from 1986 to 1988. 

The Dance Program supports reconstructions of Nijinsky’s and Stravinsky’s ballet The Rite of Spring, which had not been performed in 75 years, by the Joffrey Ballet. 

A student from the All-City High School During the National Medal of Orchestra receives pointers from New York Philharmonic violinist Judith Nelson Arts ceremonies on June 18, prior to their 1987 joint concert. Photo by 1987, President Reagan says: Carol Bernson. 

“Why do we, as a free people, honor the arts? The arts 

and the humanities teach us who we are and what we can be. They lie at the very core of the culture of which we’re a part, and they provide the foundation from which we may reach out to other cultures so that ours may be enriched by—as well as itself enrich—other enduring traditions. We honor the arts not because we want monuments to our own civilization, but because we are a free people. The arts are among our nation’s finest creations and the reflection of freedom’s light.” 

The EndowmeMayors Institu1987, bringindesign professquality of the Here AlexandPatricia Ticer railyard redevGeorgia mayoand real estate Clark. Photo bPhotography. 

42 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
FISCA

The Endowment’s budget is $167,731,000. 

In March 1988, the first 16 state arts agency planning grants are made, fostering collaboration with state education agencies to make the arts more basic in education. In May 1988, the Endowment publishes Toward Civilization, Singing in a role written especially for her, mezzo-soprano Frederica von which argues that basic arts edu- Stade stars in the Dallas Opera’s world cation is suffering serious neglect premiere of Dominick Argento’s The in the United States. This two- Aspern Papers, broadcast on the PBS series Great Performances in 1988. year study on the teaching of the Photo by Phil Schexnyder. arts in our nation’s schools warns, “the artistic heritage that is ours, and the opportunities to contribute significantly to its evolution, are being lost to our young people.” More than 180,000 copies are sold or distributed. The Arts in America, an inventory of the nation’s artistic resources, is published by the NEA in the fall. Previous NEA sources of statistical data prove helpful in its publication: A Sourcebook of Arts 

19

OCT. 1

Statistics: 1987 and the 1982 and 1985 surveys of pution in the arts. The Inter-Arts Program initiates, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Task Force on Presenting and Touring the Performing Arts. Administered by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, its goal is to help strengthen the field of presenting and relationships among presenting organizations, artists, audiences and communities. An extensive evaluation of the Test Program of Support for Local Arts Agencies confirms the capac- B.D. Wong and J

M. Butterfly, the 

ity of Federal dollars to increase by David Henry public arts funding at state and	 Program Playwri

O’Neill Theater. 

local levels. The Endowment recipient. Photo establishes the Locals Program as a full Endowment program. The 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
Sister Rosalia Haberl, a GermanAmerican bobbin lacemaker, was 

one of 12 recipients of the 1988 National Heritage Awards supported 

through the Folk & Traditional Arts Program. 

pilot stage of the program, begun in 1983, saw an Arts Endowment investment of $6 million generate $24.9 million from city and county governments and $16.5 million from state arts agencies and other sources. The Challenge III Program is inaugurated, providing $9.1 million in grants for 25 projects throughout the country for their ability to 

advance the arts nationally. 

Louisville Orchestra Music Director Lawrence Leighton Smith in a rehearsal with Isaac Stern for the 1988 opening gala concert. Photo by Richard Bram. 

44 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
FISCA

The Endowment’s budget is $169,090,000. 

Chairman Hodsoll resigns on February 28, 1989 after serving nearly eight years. Hugh Southern is appointed Acting Chairman. The Expansion Arts Program begins a Rural Arts Initiative, helping 

state arts agencies to regrant funds for strengthening rural arts organizations. Similarly, the States Program begins awarding small grants of up to $25,000 for projects developed by state arts agencies in response to the needs 

of rural communities. The States Program also begins an effort to encourage new collaborations between the states and regions and the Endowment’s discipline 

programs. 

Musician Phil Baker enjoys a laugh with International Activities are
students in a concert in Clear Lake,
South Dakota, as part of the 1989 strengthened and made a part
Touring Arts Teams, a rural arts initiative of the Office of Policy,
funded by the Endowment. Photo cour- Planning and Research.
 tesy South Dakota Arts Council.


Dance on Tour, an effort 

19

OCT. 1

jointly funded by three Endowment Programs, helpregions to sponsor dance company residencies and particularly in smaller communities nationwide. In the spring of 1989, controversy over two photographers’ works that appeared in institutions funded by the Arts Endowment begins a public debate over the types of projects supported by the agency. An Independent Commission to review the process by which the Endowment distributes grants is established by Congress. A House-Senate conference committee bars the funding of art that is “obscene,” as defined by the Supreme Court’s 1973 Miller The acclaimed documv. Sullivan decision. Dreams, directed by 

received Media Arts P1989, five years befoPhoto courtesy of Fin

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1990 

OCT. 1, 1989–SEPT. 30, 1990 

In its 25th year, the Endowment’s budget rises to $171,255,000. 

John Frohnmayer is sworn in as the fifth Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts in October 1989. At a ceremony in the White House on November 17, 1989, President Bush awards the National Medals of Arts, noting: “Art opens entire new worlds for each of us, letting us see and hear and even feel life through the mind of someone else—from new perspectives. And instead of seeing a single world, we can see as many worlds as there are artists and writers, dancers and musicians.” 

In a speech at the Corporate Council for the Arts in Seattle on June 29, 1990, Chairman Frohnmayer says: “In this technological age, we must prepare our schools to help our children understand and 

American Jazz Master Cecil Taylor works appreciate the aesthetic with students at the New England dimension of our lives. We Conservatory as part of a 1990 Music Program grant. Photo by Denise Marcotte.	 must be prepared to use creativity not as an adjunct to 

our education, but as its 

central component, because creativity will be the currency of the 21st century.” On July 9–10, 1990, the Endowment and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation convene the first regional conference devoted to access, bringing together 260 arts administrators to discuss ways to make the arts more available to older and disabled individuals. Senior Fellowships in Literature are awarded to poet Denise Levertov and prose writer Wallace Stegner in recognition of their achievements. 

Charles Johnson, a 1980 Literature Fellowship recipient, won the National Book Award for his 1990 novel Middle Passage. Cover courtesy Antheneum. 

In the studios of BoMargot Stage narraVideo Services scri

Experience. Descrifunded through an Challenge Grant, plinks for the blind. P

46 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
FISCA

The Endowment’s budget is $174,080,737. 

On November 5, 1990, Congress reauthorizes the Endowment for Fiscal Years 1991 through 1993. 

Twenty-five percent of program funds are reserved for state and regional arts agencies and another five percent is set aside for these agencies to address the needs of underserved communities, particularly in rural and inner-city areas. New emphasis is placed on arts education. 

The Angel (Ellen McLaughlin) appears to foreshadow amazing events in the 1991 world premiere of Angels in America at San Francisco’s Eureka Theater, supported through the Theater Program. 

Photo courtesy Eureka Theater. 

Panel reforms remove even the appearance of conflicts of interest on the part of the Endowment’s panelists. Modified panel structures, including split panels and multi-year applications, are adopted. Consequently, the number of panelists grows from 792 in 1990 to 947 in 1991. The Chairman is granted authority to approve all applications except those on which the Council makes a negative recommendation. 

The Endowment publishes Arts on Television: 1976–1990, a history of the Media Arts Program’s Arts on Television category that has supported dozens of series and individual programs on public television. In addition, a report co-funded by the 

Dance Program and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 

Images of American Dance: Documenting and Preserving a Cultural Heritage, is distributed, pointing to the urgency of coordinated efforts to document and preserve America’s 

unique dance heritage. 

19

OCT. 1

Cornerstones Commuhas received long-timsupport to save historin New Mexico, such Santiago in Maes, San Photo by Jim Gautier. 

Students join Nelson formance of Latin Amprogram of Urban Gafor Arts in Education. Mandel. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1992 

OCT. 1, 1991–SEPT. 30, 1992 

For the sixth consecutive year, the Endowment’s budget rises slightly to $175,954,680. Chairman Frohnmayer resigns effective April 30, 1992. From May 1992 through January 19, 1993, 

Anne-Imelda Radice is Acting Chairman. 

Throughout 1991, staff from the Inter-Arts Program meet with hundreds of artists, presenters and representatives of service organizations to gather their views on a new program to present the performing arts and commission new work. In January 1992, InterArts becomes the Presenting & Commissioning Program. 

In January 1992, the Endowment publishes a set of brochures developed for the parents of young children through a cooperative effort with five national arts education associations. The 

Working with young students at the brochures contain helpful
drums, jazz percussionist Max Roach ideas to get children involved
 shows how different rhythmic patterns
can be layered to create a composition in in the visual arts, music,
part six of Behind the Scenes, the first dance, theater and creative
national television series for children on writing.
 the visual & performing arts. Photo by
Martha Swope Associates/Carol Rosegg.


The Chamber Music Rural Residency Pilot Prograber ensembles featuring young musicians to live acommunities in Iowa, Kansas and Georgia. 

Dance (first version), a 1909 painting by Henri Matisse, was part of a special exhibition of the master Impressionist mounted by the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Photo by Eric Pollitzer. Collection, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller 

in honor of Alfred H. Barr, Jr. 

The Chamber MusProgram sent smalwork and perform in Kansas, Iowa anPictured is the Ying Iowa. Photo courte

48 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
FISCA

The Endowment’s budget is $174,459,382. With the inaugura­ tion of President William Clinton, a new administration 

begins. During much of this period the function of chairman resides with Madeleine Kunin, Deputy Secretary of Education, who delegates practical, day-to-day authority to Ana M. Steele, 

Acting Senior Deputy Chairman. 

The Office of International Activities becomes the International Program. Through its partnerships as well as direct grants, the International Program provides funding for 185 projects in 1993. One of its first concrete achievements is the creation of the U.S./Canada/Mexico Creative Artists’ Residencies. ArtsLink, which 

fosters exchanges by U.S. artists and arts administrators and their counterparts in Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union, is expanded. 

Photo by Christine music ensembles performing new works. Kronos Quartet, one of the nation’Sherba and Joan Jeanrenaud are the Hank Dutt, David Harrington, John 

Alicino. 

s finest 

In cooperation with the Institute of Museum Services, the Endowment funds The Accessible Museum, a guide 

to model programs of accessibility for disabled and older people published by the American Association of Museums. The agency publishes Dancemakers, a research 

study on the dire economic straits of choreographers, and Generation of Fellows, an anecdotal history of the impact of Endowment grants to individual artists. Moving Around: Partnerships at Work in Dance on Tour, published for the 

Endowment by Dance/USA, summarizes successful dance touring projects by dance companies and presenters. 

19

OCT. 1

The Fisk Jubilee Singeinaugural tour, becambring the spiritual to Their story is told as Public Radio’s 26-par

Water: African AmeriTraditions, supported Arts Program. Photo cUniversity Archives. 

The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane & Company dancers tour the country to sold-out performance halls. Photo courtesy Walker Art Center. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1994 

OCT. 1, 1993–SEPT. 30, 1994 

For Fiscal Year 1994, the Endowment’s budget stands at $170,229,000. 

On October 8, 1993, Jane Alexander is sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor as the sixth Chairman of the Arts Endowment. As part of her pledge to Congress, she sets out to survey the state of the arts in America. Within her first 14 months 

in office, Chairman Alexander visits 130 different communities in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. 

The first federally sponsored national arts conference, Art-21: Art Reaches into the 21st Century, is held in Chicago, Illinois, April 14–16, 1994. Over 1,100 participants meet to discuss national arts policy centered around four themes: “The Artist in Society,” “Lifelong Learning through the Arts,” “The Arts and Technology,” 

and “Expanding Resources for the Arts.” President Clinton addresses the conference via video: “Each of us is born into a society that 

passes along its values through its culture. And that’s why the 

National Endowment for the Arts was established three decades ago: to enliven creative expression and to make the arts more accessible to Americans of all walks of life.” 

An economic impact study published by the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies estimates that the nonprofit arts industry annually generates 1.

$36.8 billion in $790 million in ment tax revenuin state governmenues, and $3.4 Federal tax reve

Fiddle students pose for a group portrait at the Augusta Heritage Center, Davis and Elkins College in The arts are amoWest Virginia. Photo by Mark plines to develop 

Crabtree. goals and standa

Goals 2000 educ

and they are published as the National Standards fA consortium of national arts education associationwith the Endowment, focuses on what every young should know and be able to do in dance, music, thvisual arts. The Goals 2000 Arts Education Planning in the summer of 1994. Design for Accessibility: An Arts Administrator’s Gduced on July 28, 1994, the fourth anniversary of with Disabilities Act. Produced in partnership witAssembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA), the booEndowment grantees and others in making their p

50 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
facilities fully accessible to people with disabilities and older 

adults. The Arts Endowment and NASAA disseminate 800 free 

copies of the Guide to grantees through the state arts agencies. 

The Research Division publishes Trends in Artist Occupations: 

1970–1990, which uses U.S. Census figures to show a 127 percent increase in the number of artists over that 20 year period, for a total of over 1.67 million artists in the U.S. 

In Chicago, banners for Art-21: Art Reaches Into the 21st Century, the first national conference on the arts sponsored by 

the Federal government, are displayed. Photo by Eric Futran. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1995 

OCT. 1, 1994–SEPT. 30, 1995 

The National Endowment for the Arts is now 30 years old. The Endowment’s budget is $162,311,000, following successive 

reductions by Congress, including a rescission in funds late in the year. The Endowment’s staff is being reduced as well. 

On October 13, 1994, at a luncheon in honor of the National Medal of Arts recipients, Chairman Alexander names all the former members of the National Council on the Arts as Ambassadors 

for the Arts. 

Congressman Ralph Regula (R-OH) assumes Chairmanship of the House Appropriations Subcommittee with responsibility for the Endowments. Senator Slade Gorton (R-WA) assumes 

Designers and civic leaders discuss Chairmanship in the Senate.
options for the rebuilding of downtown
Oklahoma City after the bombing of the The International Program
 Murrah Federal Building as part of a 
charrette organized and run by the publishes World Arts: A Guide
Design Program. to International Arts Exchange 

and makes the information available through on-line 

technology. The Special Constituencies Office is re-named the Office of AccessAbility to reflect its mission of making the arts more accessible to all Americans. The Office of Policy, Planning and Research is re-organized as the Office of Policy, Research and Technology, and plans commence to create an Endowment site on the World Wide Web. 

Turtle Mountain Chippewa Jduring his week-long Arts Presidency at Warren ElemenMontana under the auspices Photo courtesy Helena Pres

On January 23, 1995, the series American Cinempublic television as part of the Endowment’s mille

tion of American art in the 20th century. 

Congress begins deliberations on reauthorization Humanities Endowments and the Institute of MusAt a Congressional hearing on the future of the Ar

52 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
Chairman Alexander declares: “A great nation supports and 

encourages the education of all its people. A great nation recognizes that the life of the spirit, of the human mind, is what endures 

through the passing on from generation to generation a heritage that says: this is who we are, this is who we were, and this is who we will be in days to come. That heritage is manifested through the 

arts, the humanities and the sciences. That heritage is what we seek to keep alive at the Endowment for the Arts.” Chairman Alexander accepts a Tony Award on behalf of the 

agency in recognition of the Endowment’s role in the growth of regional theater in the U.S. 

Based on funding levels appropriated by Congress, the Endowment begins planning for a major re-structuring. For the first time in its history, the National Heritage Fellowship awards presentation is held at the White House, hosted by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. On September 29, 1995, the Endowment celebrates its 30th anniversary. 

Ceramic students attempt slab work in the studios of the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild on the north side of Pittsburgh. Photo by Lonnie Graham. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1996 

OCT. 1, 1995-SEPT. 30, 1996 

1996 is a pivotal year for the National Endowment for the Arts. The budget is cut by 39 percent to $99.5 million – down from 

$162.5 million the previous year. With a backdrop of concern about a balanced budget, artistic expression and the grantmaking process, Congress debates the appropriate Federal role for arts 

funding. 

After a year-long budget battle with the President, which includes two Federal government shutdowns, Congress votes to phase out funding for the agency over a two-year period. The House of Representatives announces a plan to eliminate the Endowment. 

The Repertory Dance Theatre The agency reorganizes itself and the of Salt Lake City, which staff is cut by 47 percent, from 279 to received one of 118 Dance 148. 
Program grants in 1996,
performs the Utah Centennial
Landscape Suite. Photo by Congress places specific prohibitions
Kristan Jacobsen, Deseret News. on the agency. All individual artist 

grants are eliminated with the exception of Literature Fellowships. The honorific National Heritage Fellowships and American Jazz 

Masters awards are retained. Congress also prohibits seasonal or general operating support grants, allowing only project support to organizations. Restrictions are imposed on allowing grantees to subgrant to third party organizations and artists. The agency restructures its grantmaking operation from 17 discipline-based programs to four categories: 1) Creation & Presentation; 2) Heritage & Preservation; 3) Education & Access; and 4) Planning & Stabilization. Applicants are limited to one proposal per year. 

Lindsay Cthe orphathe musicGoodsperecipient Theater gConnectiSobolews

The Endowment unveils its World Wide Web site

detailed application guidelines, staff listings, reseaand links to other arts information sites. 

New Leadership Initiatives create collaborative panational significance with other Federal agencies, tions and foundations, such as an agreement with Service to support arts programs in rural areas. 

54 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
Coming Up Taller: Arts and Humanities Programs for Children and 

Youth At Risk, a joint research publication of the Endowment and the 

President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, is released at 

a White House ceremony. The study reveals how local artists and educators can help turn around the lives of young people. 

The Rockefeller Foundation publishes the report Looking Ahead: Private Sector Giving to the Arts and the Humanities, summarizing funding trends to cultural organizations. It states that, despite significant growth in foundation giving in the 1980s, the National Endowment for the Arts remains the largest, single funder of the 

arts in the United States. 

The Open Studio project in partnership with the Benton Foundation is established, bringing free public Internet access to arts organizations in all 50 states and establishing a mentoring program for artists and arts organizations to develop and maintain Web sites. 

The New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra, recipient of a 1996 grant, performs under James Bolle at the Sainte Marie Church in Manchester. Photo by Tom Stearns. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1997 

OCT. 1, 1996-SEPT. 30, 1997 

The agency receives an appropriation equal to the prior year at $99.5 million. 

Fiscal Year 1997 marks the first year the changes mandated by 

Congress and planned by the Endowment’s administration the previous year are implemented. 

The various grant programs through which the designated state and regional arts agencies had previously received funds – Basic State Grants, Arts-in-Education Partnership Grants, 

The African-American Dance Ensemble of and Underserved
Durham, North Carolina dances in the lamban Communities Set-Aside
 style, indigenous to the Sene Gambis area of
West Africa. The Ensemble received a Heritage Grants – are consolidat­
& Preservation grant in 1997. Photo by ed into Partnership
 Rebecca Lesher.
 Agreements. 

President William Jefferson Clinton acknowledges the arts in his 1997 State of the Union address, challenging “...all Americans in the arts and humanities to join with our fellow citizens to make 

the year 2000 a national celebration of the American spirit in every community – a celebration of our common culture in the century that has passed, and in the new one to come in a new millennium, so that we can remain the world’s beacon not only of liberty, but of creativity...” 

Jane Dumas, Celia Silva anfrom tribe Kumeyaay are twcus technique at the June 1Basketweavers Gathering in California, supported by an by Linda Yamane. 

Through a $225,000 Leadership Initiative, the Arthelps the YMCA establish literary arts centers in nacross the country through the YMCA’s National W

program. 

The President’s Committee on the Arts and the HuCreative America, a report about the importance humanities for a democratic society. It calls for a Millennium Initiative celebrating and strengtheninnation’s cultural life at the turn of the millennium

56 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
The Endowment releases Artists in the Work Force: Employment & 

Earnings. The study indicates that the number of working artists has increased 127 percent since 1970. It also reports that artists 

earn less than other professionals and frequently work more than one job to stay above the poverty line, despite averaging over four years of college education. 

Six regional summits boosting cultural tourism are launched to forge partnerships between the tourism industry and the cultural community. The Endowment works with a cadre of federal agencies, national service organizations and corporations to promote and strengthen cultural tourism. The Endowment publishes Imagine, a resource and information 

guide to help parents provide arts education to their children. 

Wenyi Hua, internationally regarded as the premier artist in kunqu, one of China’s oldest and most refined forms of opera, and recipient of a 1997 National Heritage Fellowship. Photo courtesy of Wenyi Hua. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1998 

OCT. 1, 1997-SEPT. 30, 1998 

After a House vote to eliminate the Endowment’s funding, a House-Senate conference finalizes the Fiscal Year 1998 

budget at $98 million. 

Congress mandates that state arts agencies receive 40 percent of agency program funds, up from 35 percent. Congress also imposes a 15 percent cap on total grant funds awarded to organizations in any one state, excluding projects of national or multi-state significance. It further mandates the National Council on the Arts be reduced from 26 to 20 persons, Voices of Youth project interns dis­ with six being Members of play their work at the Western Congress who serve in a non- Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada. The Center received a 1998 grant voting, ex-officio capacity. to train sudents from Nevada Congressional representatives first Basque, ranching, mining and 

Native American communities in attend a National Council meeting photography and sound recording. in March. Photo by Bruce Hucko. 

Jane Alexander, Chairman of the Endowment since 1993, steps 

down at the end of her four-year term in October. She states, “It 

was a great privilege to be front and center to the of the arts in America.” Kathryn Higgins, U.S. DeLabor Deputy Secretary, becomes Acting Chairma

Shanklin-Peterson, Senior Deputy Chairman, manoperations. 

William J. Ivey is nominated by President Clinton enth Chairman of the Arts Endowment and is conmously by the Senate. He is sworn into office on ArtsREACH, a new pilot program, encourages community partnerships between arts and non-arts organizations to develop or implement cultural plans. It offers direct grants in twenty states where organizations received five or fewer such grants in the last two Architect Frank Geh

National Medal of A

years. Bill Clinton and Fir

Rodham Clinton at 

The 1997 Survey of Public mony. Photo by Ne

the National Endow

Participation in the Arts is released. It indicates that 

58 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
Americans enjoy the arts in record numbers: 50 percent of America’s citizens, or 

97 million people, attended an arts activity during the previous year. 

The Folk & Traditional Arts Infrastructure Initiative addresses the needs of folk arts practitioners by providing funds for field research, professional staff support and folk art exhibitions and performances nationwide. On June 25, 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court issues its ruling in the case of NEA v. Finley. The 8-1 decision determines 

The NEA releases its American Canvas report, sum

six privately funded forums across the country that representatives from the arts, education, business, gconsumer organizations, civic groups, religious org

foundations. It calls on artists and communities to edefinition of American culture, support the nonprofinnovative partnerships, meet community needs, anyoung people in the arts. 

The Office of AccessAbility organizes the first natiocareers in the arts for people with disabilities, in cothe U.S. Department of Health and Human Service

The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis presents Security Administration and John F. Kennedy CenteThe Venetian Twins in a Performing Arts. 
production supported by


a 1998 Creation &


that the statute mandating the Endowment Presentation grant. 
to consider “general standards of decency Photo by Michael Daniel.
and respect for the diverse beliefs and
values of the American public” in awarding grants is constitution­
al. The NEA continues its implementation of the statute through its panel review system that includes persons representing culturally diverse points of view. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

1999 

OCT. 1, 1998-SEPT. 30, 1999 

The Endowment’s Fiscal Year 1999 appropriated budget is 

again set at $98 million, with a $34,000 reduction in August when Congress applies a rescission to all federal agencies to offset the Emergency Oil and Gas Bill. The NEA’s new strategic plan for 1999-2004 is released. The agency’s mission statement is revised to read: “The National Endowment for the Arts, an investment in America’s living cultural 

heritage, serves the public good by nurturing human creativity, supporting community spirit, and fostering 

appreciation of the excellence and diversity of our nation’s artistic accomplishments.” 

The PBS series American Photography: A Century of Images, explores the role of photography in the personal lives and public history of 20th century America with Endowment support. “Migrant Mother” by Dorothea Lange, 1936, is one of the program’s featured works. Photo courtesy U.S. Farm Security Administration collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. 

In one year, the ArtsREACH program increases the number of 

agency direct grants to the 20 eligible target states by over 350 

percent. 

Chairman Bill Ivey proposes the “Challenge Amerand President Clinton seeks funding for it in his F

budget request to Congress. The initiative has two 

1) bringing together the arts, the American people ties to address community concerns, and 2) fosterof new cultural initiatives and programs in previoareas. The NEA launches four Design Leadership Initiativdesign talent and improve the overall quality of dcountry. They focus on improving the design of preworking out-of-date suburban malls, examining revitalization of schools, and finding ways for desthe quality of life in rural areas. A landmark research study of YouthARTS, a projecArts Endowment and the U.S. Department of Justithat arts programs help decrease youth delinquenyear, two joint initiatives of the Arts Endowment aDepartment reach young people in juvenile justicliving in neighborhoods that put them at risk. The agency Web site adds Lessons Learned: A Pla

its professional development resources. The Tools

60 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
advice from professional arts consultants in the areas of minority 

audience development, capital campaigns, strategic planning, community partnerships and social enterprise. The Arts Endowment conducts a major assessment of its support for organizational development through Planning & Stabilization grants. A series of colloquia, open to the arts community, is held 

in Washington, D.C. to examine issues such as audience development, information technology, leadership and capitalization strategies for arts organizations. 

Sudanese immigrants in Iowa rehearse traditional dances as part of the Des Moines Playhouse’s Culture Café, a series of performances featuring the city’s immigrants and supported by an ArtsREACH grant. Photo courtesy Des Moines Playhouse. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE A

RTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
FISCAL YEAR 

2000 

OCT. 1, 1999-SEPT. 30, 2000 

The House votes to fund the NEA at the 1999 level after reject­ ing both a proposed increase and a proposed decrease. The 

Senate votes for a $5 million increase. Final legislation for Fiscal Year 2000 includes a government-wide funding reduction of 0.38 percent, and the agency’s budget drops slightly to $97.6 million. 

To celebrate its 35th year, the Endowment 

presents America’s Creative Legacy: An NEA 

Forum at Harvard at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The event brings together the current Chairman and four former NEA Chairs for a discussion of U.S. arts policy. 

The Endowment broadens its outreach by further supporting the production and dis- The Indian Hunter in tribution of radio and television programs Oak Dale Cemetery in aimed at nationwide audiences. 	 Urbana, Ohio is a replica 

of an original sculpture by John Quincy Adams A new initiative funds artists’ residencies Ward. The work is being 

in community settings, providing positive conserved through Save Outdoor Sculpture. alternatives for youth in the form of after- Photo by Venus Bronze school arts programs. Works, Inc. 

The Endowment invests in several Leadership Inited as Official Millennium Projects by the White HMillennium Council. These projects highlight artisand include significant community involvement i•	 Under Artists & Communities: America Create

Millennium, coordinated by the Mid Atlantic A

host communities sponsor visual and performidencies in which artists and local citizens togeworks for the 21st century. 

•	 Arts on Millennium Trails, administered by the 

Association of State Arts Agencies, supports thcommunity-centered public art projects along Millennium Legacy Trails designated by the Uof Transportation. 

•	 Continental Harmony, administered by the Am

Composers Forum, provides for composers’ recreation of new musical works reflecting the lhost communities, with many premiere perforJuly 4, 2000. 

62 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
•	 The Favorite Poem Project, conceived by Poet Laureate Robert 

Pinsky and conducted in partnership with the Library of Congress, Boston University and the New England Foundation for the Arts, celebrates the poems Americans love through public readings and the creation of an audio and video archive of people from varied backgrounds reading their favorite poems aloud. 

•	 Live at the Library 2000, in cooperation with the American 

Library Association, develops opportunities for literary, visual 

and performing artists to present their work in libraries across the country. 

•	 Through The Mars Millennium Project, an interdisciplinary 

learning project of the Arts Endowment, U.S. Department of Education, NASA and the J. Paul Getty Trust, students in grades K-12 work with artists and scientists to design model communities for life on Mars in the year 2030. 

•	 SOS!2000 — Save Outdoor Sculpture, a project of Heritage 

Preservation, funds conservation treatment of artistically and historically significant outdoor sculpture. 

•	 Treasures of American Film Archives, in cooper

National Film Preservation Foundation and 12 marchives across the country, preserves, screens a

to public libraries a rich collection of “orphan,” mercial, films from the past century. 

U.S. Poet Laureate and Boston University Professor of English and Creative Writing Robert Pinsky is at the helm of the Favorite Poem Project. Photo courtesy Boston University Photo Services. 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
NationalCouncilon theArts 

Current Members Former Members Phyllis Curtin (1988–91) (As of January, 2000) Jean Dalrymple (1968–74)* 

Maurice Abravanel (1970–76)* Hal C. Davis (1976–78)* 

Gordon Davidson Kurt Herbert Adler (1980–87)* Kenneth Dayton (1970–76) Patrick D. Davidson Margo Albert (1980–85)* Agnes de Mille (1965–66)* Terry H. Evans Marian Anderson (1966–72)* Rene d’Harnoncourt (1965–68)* Joy Harjo Martina Arroyo (1976–82) J. C. Dickinson, Jr. (1976–82) Ronnie F. Heyman Elizabeth Ashley (1965–66) Richard C. Diebenkorn (1966–69)* Speight Jenkins William Bailey (1992–97) C. Douglas Dillon (1982–89) Nathan Leventhal David Baker (1987–94) John T. Doolittle (ex-officio) (1998)+ Marsha Mason James Barnett (1980) Allen Drury (1982–88)* Cleo Parker Robinson Thomas Bergin (1979–84) Charles Eames (1970–76)* Judith O. Rubin Robert Berks (1969–70) Clint Eastwood (1972–78) Joan Specter Phyllis P. Berney (1986–91) William Eells (1976–82) Richard Stern Leonard Bernstein (1965–68)* Duke Ellington (1968–74)* Luis Valdez Theodore Bikel (1978–82) Ralph Ellison (1965–66)* Townsend D. Wolfe, III Anthony A. Bliss (1965–68)* Paul Engle (1965–70)* 

Sally Brayley Bliss (1987–94) Joseph Epstein (1985–94) 

Serving in an ex officio, non-voting Angus Bowmer (1974–79)* Leonard L. Farber (1980) capacity: Willard Boyd (1976–82) I. Ronald Feldman (1994–99) U. S. Representative Cass Ballenger David Brinkley (1965) O’Neil Ford (1968–74)* 

(R-NC) Nina Brock (1987–94) William P. Foster (1996–98) 

U.S. Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH) Richard F. Brown (1972–78)* Helen Frankenthaler (1985–92) U.S. Senator Richard S. Durbin (D-IL) Trisha Brown (1994–97) Martin Friedman (1979–84) U. S. Representative Nita M. Lowey Albert Bush–Brown (1965–70)* Robert Garfias (1987–96) 

(D-NY) Philip Brunelle (1992–96) Virginia B. Gerity (1970–72)* 

U. S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) Henry J. Cauthen (1972–78) Roy M. Goodman (1989–96) (vacant – U. S. House of Norman B. Champ, Jr. (1979–86) Martha Graham (1985–87)* 

Representatives) Van Cliburn (1974–80) Barbara Grossman (1994–99) 

Susan M. Collins (ex-officio) (1998)+ Sandra Hale (1980) 

Donald Hall (199Lawrence Halprin Marvin Hamlisch R. Philip Hanes, JHugh Hardy (199Mel Harris (1988Huntington HartfoRev. Gilbert Hartk

Helen Hayes (19Peter deCourcy H

Charlton Heston Margaret Hillis (1Celeste Holm (19Richard Hunt (19Marta Istomin (1Arthur I. Jacobs (Judith Jamison (1Kenneth M. Jarin Colleen Jennings RRobert Joffrey (19Bob Johnson (19James Earl Jones Herman David KeM. Ray Kingston Ardis Krainik (19Eleanor Lambert Jacob Lawrence Warner Lawson Raymond J. LearsN. Harper Lee (1

64 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
Erich Leinsdorf (1980–84)* 


Harvey Lichtenstein (1987–94)
Samuel Lipman (1982–88)*
Bernard Lopez (1979–84)
Wendy Luers (1988–96)


Talbot MacCarthy (1985–91)


Roger Mandle (1989–96)
Jimilu Mason (1966–72)
Louise McClure (1991–97)
Wallace D. McRae (1996–98)


Charles McWhorter (1970–76)*
Robert Merrill (1968–74)
Arthur Mitchell (1987–94) 
Toni Morrison (1980–87)
Carlos Moseley (1985–91)
Jacob Neusner (1985–90)
Rev. Leo J. O’Donovan, S. J. (1994–98)
Gregory Peck (1965–66; 1968–74)


I. M. Pei (1980–87)
William L. Pereira (1965–68)*
Jorge M. Perez (1994–98)


Roberta Peters (1991–97)
Sidney Poitier (1966–70)
Harold Prince (1976–82)
Lloyd Richards (1985–92)
Jerome Robbins (1974–79)*
James D. Robertson (1972–78)*


Kevin Roche (1989)
Richard Rodgers (1965–68)*
Lida Rogers (1980–87)


Maureene Rogers (1978–84)
James Rosenquist (1979–84)
Rosalind Russell (1972–76)*
George Schaefer (1982–88)*
Franklin Schaffner (1976–82)*
Thomas Schippers (1974–76)*
Gunther Schuller (1974–80)
Rudolf Serkin (1968–74)*
George Seybolt (1974–80)*
Robert Shaw (1979–84)*
Beverly Sills (1970–76)
David Smith (1965)*
Oliver Smith (1965–70)*
Robert Stack (1982–88) 
John Steinbeck (1966–68)*
Isaac Stern (1965–70)
George Stevens, Sr. (1965–70)*
Ruth Carter Stevenson (1969–70)
Jocelyn Levi Straus (1988–96)
William E. Strickland, Jr. (1991–97)


Geraldine Stutz (1976–82)
James Johnson Sweeney (1965–68)*
Billy Taylor (1972–78)


William Van Alen (1982–88)


Edward Villella (1968–74)


E. Leland Webber (1970–76)*


Harry Weese (1974–80)*


Donald Weismann (1966–72)


Eudora Welty (1972–78)


Dolores Wharton (1974–80)


George White (1992–97)
Nancy White (1966–72)
Anne Porter Wilson (1972–78)
Robert Wise (1970–76)
Otto Wittmann (1965–66)
Catherine Yiyu Cho Woo (1991–96)
James Wood (1985–94)


Jessie Woods (1979–85)
Rachael Worby (1994–98)
James Wyeth (1972–78)
Rosalind W. Wyman (1979–85)
Minoru Yamasaki (1965–69)*


Stanley Young (1965–66)*
+ Member, U. S. Congress * Deceased 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
Chairmenof theNational Endowment for theAr

Roger L. Stevens* Nancy Hanks* Livingston L. Biddle, Jr. Frank Hodsoll 

(1965–69) (1969–77) (1977–81) (1981–89) 

* Deceased 

John E. Frohnmayer (1989–92) 

Jane Alexander (1993–97) 

Bill Ivey (1998– ) 

66 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
National Medal

1985 1986 1988 1989 Elliott Carter Marian Anderson (Mrs. Vincent) Brooke Astor Leopold AComposer Opera Singer Arts Patron PreservatioDorothy Buffum Chandler Frank Capra Saul Bellow Dayton HuArts Patron Film Director Writer Corporate Ralph Ellison Aaron Copland Sydney J. Freedberg Katherine Writer Composer Art Historian, Curator Dancer, CJose Ferrer Willem de Kooning Francis Goelet Alfred EiseActor Painter Music Patron PhotograpMartha Graham Dominique de Menil Helen Hayes Martin FrieDancer, Choreographer Arts Patron Actress Museum DHallmark Cards, Inc. Agnes de Mille Gordon Parks Leigh GerdCorporate Arts Patron Choreographer Photographer, Film Arts Patron

Director 

Lincoln Kirstein Exxon Corporation John Birks Arts Patron Corporate Arts Patron I.M. Pei Jazz Trump

Architect 

Paul Mellon Seymour H. Knox Walker KirArts Patron Arts Patron Jerome Robbins Sculptor Louise Nevelson Eva Le Gallienne 

Dancer, Choreographer Vladimir H

Sculptress Actress, Author Rudolf Serkin (posthumo

Pianist Pianist 

Georgia O’Keeffe Alan Lomax Painter Folklorist, Scholar Roger L. Stevens Czelaw M

Arts Administrator Writer 

Leontyne Price Lewis Mumford Soprano Philosopher, Literary Critic Obert C. Tanner Robert Mo

Arts Patron Painter 

Alice Tully Eudora Welty Arts Patron Writer Virgil Thomson John Updi

Composer, Music Critic Writer 

1987 Romare Bearden Painter J.W. Fisher Arts Patron Ella Fitzgerald Singer Dr. Armand Hammer Arts Patron Sydney and Frances Lewis Arts Patrons Howard Nemerov Writer, Scholar Alwin Nikolais Dancer, Choreographer Isamu Noguchi Sculptor William Schuman Composer Robert Penn Warren Poet 

NOTE: In 1983, prior to the official establishment of the National Medal of Arts, eleven artists and patrons received a medal from President Reagan at a White House luncheoPresident’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. They were: Pinchas Zukerman, Frederica Von Stade, Czeslaw Milosz, Frank Stella, Philip Johnson and Luis Valdez (artis

Philanthropic Foundation, James Michener, Philip Morris, Inc., The Cleveland Foundation, Elma Lewis and The Dayton Hudson Foundation (patrons). 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
National MedalofArts continued

George Francis Abbott Actor, Playwright, Producer, Director Hume Cronyn Actor, Director Merce Cunningham Dancer, Choreographer Jasper Johns Painter, Sculptor Jacob Lawrence Painter Riley “B. B.” King Blues Musician, Singer David Lloyd Kreeger Arts Patron Harris and Carroll 

Sterling Masterson 

Arts Patrons Ian McHarg Landscape Architect Beverly Sills Opera Singer, Director Southeastern Bell Corporation Corporate Arts Patron Jessica Tandy Actress 

1991 Maurice Abravanel Music Director, Conductor Roy Acuff Country Singer, Bandleader Pietro Belluschi Architect J. Carter Brown Museum Director Charles “Honi” Coles Tap Dancer John O. Crosby Opera Director, Conductor, Administrator Richard Diebenkorn Painter R. Philip Hanes, Jr. Arts Patron Kitty Carlisle Hart Actress, Singer, Arts Administrator, Dancer Pearl Primus Choreographer, Anthropologist Isaac Stern Violinist Texaco Inc. Corporate Arts Patron 

1992 AT&T Corporate Arts Patron Marilyn Horne Opera Singer Allan Houser Sculptor James Earl Jones Actor Lila Wallace-Reader’s 

Digest Fund 

Corporate Arts Patron Minnie Pearl Performer Robert Saudek Television Producer, Museum Director Earl Scruggs Banjo Player Robert Shaw Conductor, Choral Director Billy Taylor Jazz Musician, Pianist Robert Venturi and 

Denise Scott Brown 

Architects Robert Wise Film Director 

1993 Walter and Leonore 

Annenberg 

Arts Patrons Cabell “Cab” Calloway Singer, Bandleader Ray Charles Singer, Musician Bess Lomax Hawes Folklorist Stanley Kunitz Poet, Editor, Educator Robert Merrill Baritone Arthur Miller Playwright Robert Rauschenberg Artist Lloyd Richards Theatrical Director William Styron Author Paul Taylor Dancer, Choreographer Billy Wilder Movie Director, Writer, Producer 

1994 Harry BeSinger Dave BruPianist, CCelia CruSinger Dorothy Violin TeJulie HarActress Erick HaDancer, Gene KeDancer, Pete SingFolk MusCatherinArts PatrWayne TArtist, TeRichard Poet, PlaYoung AArts Edu

68 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 

1990 
National MedalofA

1995 Licia Albanese Opera Singer Gwendolyn Brooks Poet Gerald and Iris Cantor Arts Patrons Ossie Davis Actor Ruby Dee Actor David Diamond Composer James Ingo Freed Architect Bob Hope Entertainer Roy Lichtenstein Painter, Sculptor Arthur Mitchell Dancer, Choreographer William S. Monroe Bluegrass Musician Urban Gateways Arts Education Organization 

1996 Edward Albee Playwright Boys Choir of Harlem Choral Ensemble Sarah Caldwell Opera Conductor Harry Callahan Photographer Zelda Fichandler Theater Director, Founder Eduardo “Lalo” Guerrero Composer Lionel Hampton Bandleader Bella Lewitzky Dancer, Choreographer, Dance Educator Vera List Arts Patron Robert Redford Actor, Director, Producer Maurice Sendak Author, Illustrator, Designer Stephen Sondheim Composer, Lyricist 

1997 Louise Bourgeois Sculptor, Visual Artist Betty Carter Jazz Vocalist Agnes Gund Arts Patron Daniel Urban Kiley Landscape Architect Angela Lansbury Actor James Levine Conductor, Pianist MacDowell Colony Arts Organization Tito Puente Latin Percussionist and Musician Jason Robards Actor Edward Villella Artistic Director, Dancer Doc Watson Bluegrass and Old-time Music Guitarist, Vocalist 

1998 Jacques d’Amboise Dancer, Choreographer, Dance Educator Antoine “Fats” Domino Pianist, Singer Ramblin’ Jack Elliott Singer, Songwriter Frank Gehry Architect Barbara Handman Arts Advocate Agnes Martin Visual Artist Gregory Peck Actor, Producer Roberta Peters Opera Singer Philip Roth Writer Sara Lee Corporation Corporate Arts Patron The Steppenwolf Theatre 

Company 

Arts Organization Gwen Verdon Actress, Dancer 

1999 Irene DiamArts Patron Aretha FraSinger Michael GArchitect, Odetta Singer, MuThe JuilliaPerforming Norman LProducer, 

Advocate 

Rosetta LeActress, PrHarvey LicArts AdminLydia MenSinger George SeSculptor Maria TallcBallerina 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
AmericanJazz Masters

1982 1987 Roy Eldridge Cleo Patra Brown Sun Ra Melba Liston Dizzy Gillespie Jay McShann 1983 1988 Count Basie Art Blakey Kenny Clarke Lionel Hampton Sonny Rollins Billy Taylor 1984 1989 Ornette Coleman Barry Harris Miles Davis Hank Jones Max Roach Sarah Vaughan 1985 1990 Gil Evans George Russell


Ella Fitzgerald Cecil Taylor


Jo Jones Gerald Wilson


1986 1991 Benny Carter Danny Barker Teddy Wilson Buck Clayton Dexter Gordon Andy Kirk 

Clark Terry 

1992 Betty Carter
Dorothy Donegan
Harry “Sweets” Edison
1993 Jon Hendricks Milt Hinton Joe Williams 1994 Louie Bellson Ahmad Jamal Carmen McRae 1995 Ray Brown Roy Haynes Horace Silver 1996 Tommy Flanagan J.J. Johnson Benny Golson 

1997 Billy Higgins
Milt “Bags” JacksoAnita O’Day
1998 Ron Carter James Moody Wayne Shorter 1999 Dave Brubeck
Art Farmer
Joe Henderson


70 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
National Heritage A

1982 Dewey Balfa Cajun Fiddler Basile, LA Joe Heaney Irish Singer Brooklyn, NY Tommy Jarrell Appalachian Fiddler Mt. Airy, NC Bessie Jones Georgia Sea Island Singer Brunswick, GA George Lopez Santos Woodcarver Cordova, NM Brownie McGhee Blues Guitarist Oakland, CA Hugh McGraw Shape Note Singer Bremen, GA Lydia Mendoza Mexican-American Singer Houston, TX Bill Monroe Bluegrass Musician Nashville, TN 

Elijah Pierce Carver, Painter Columbus, OH Adam Popovich Tamburitza Musician Dolton, IL Georgeann Robinson Osage Ribbonworker Bartlesville, OK Duff Severe Western Saddlemaker Pendleton, OR Philip Simmons Ornamental Ironworker Charleston, SC Sanders “Sonny” Terry Blues Musician Holliswood, NY 

1983 Sister Mildred Barker Shaker Singer Poland Springs, ME Rafael Cepeda Bomba Musician, Dancer Santurce, PR Ray Hicks Appalachian Storyteller Banner Elk, NC 

Stanley Hicks Appalachian Musician, Storyteller, Instrument Maker Vilas, NC John Lee Hooker Blues Guitarist, Singer San Carlos, CA Mike Manteo Sicilian Marionettist Staten Island, NY Narciso Martinez Texas-Mexican Accordionist,
Composer
San Benito, TX
Lanier Meaders Potter Cleveland, GA Almeda Riddle Ballad Singer Greers Ferry, AR Simon St. Pierre French-American Fiddler Smyrna Mills, ME Joe Shannon Irish Piper Chicago, IL Alex Stewart Cooper, Woodworker 

Sneedville, TN 

Ada Thomas Chitimacha BasketmCharenton, LA Lucinda Toomer African-American QColumbus, GA Lem Ward Decoy Carver, PainCrisfield, MD Dewey Williams Shape Note Singer Ozark, AL 

1984 Clifton Chenier Creole AccordionisLafayette, LA Bertha Cook Knotted Bedspread Boone, NC Joseph Cormier Cape Breton ViolinWaltham, MA Elizabeth Cotten African-American SSyracuse, NY Burlon Craig Potter Vale, NC 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP
National Heritage Awards continued

Albert Fahlbusch Hammered Dulcimer Maker, Player Scottsbluff, NE Janie Hunter African-American Singer, Storyteller Johns Island, SC Mary Jane Manigault African-American Seagrass 
Basket Maker
Mt. Pleasant, SC
Genevieve Mougin Lebanese-American Lace Maker Bettendorf, IA Martin Mulvihill Irish-American Fiddler Bronx, NY Howard “Sandman” Sims African-American Tap Dancer New York, NY Ralph Stanley Appalachian Banjo Player, Singer Coeburn, VA Margaret Tafoya Santa Clara Pueblo Potter Espanola, NM 

Dave Tarras Klezmer Clarinetist Brooklyn, NY Paul Tiulana Eskimo Maskmaker, Dancer, Singer 

Anchorage, AK 

Cleofes Vigil Hispanic Storyteller, Singer San Cristobal, NM Emily Kau’i Zuttermeister Hula Master Kaneohe, HI 

1985 Eppie Archuleta Hispanic Weaver San Luis Valley, CO Periklis Halkias Greek Clarinetist Astoria, NY Jimmy Jausoro Basque Accordionist Boise, ID Meali’i Kalama Hawaiian Quilter Honolulu, HI 

Lily May Ledford Appalachian Musician, Singer Lexington, KY Leif Melgaard Norwegian Woodcarver Minneapolis, MN Bua Xou Mua Hmong Musician Portland, OR Julio Negron-Rivera Puerto Rican Instrument Maker Morovis, PR Alice New Holy Blue Legs Lakota Sioux Quill Artist Oglala, SD Glenn Ohrlin Cowboy Singer, Storyteller, 
Illustrator
Mountain View, AR
Henry Townsend Blues Musician, 
Songwriter
St. Louis, MO
Horace “Spoons” Williams Spoons & Bones Player, Poet Philadelphia, PA 

1986 Alfonse “Bois SecAfrican-American Eunice, LA Earnest Bennett Anglo-American WIndianapolis, IN Helen Cordero Pueblo Potter Cochiti, NM Sonia Domsch Czech-American Atwood, KS Canray Fontenot African-American Welsh, LA John Jackson African-American Fairfax Station, VA Peou Khatna Cambodian CourChoreographer
Silver Spring, MDValerio Longoria Mexican-AmericaSan Antonio, TX 

72 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
National Heritage Award

Joyce Doc Tate Nevaquaya Comanche Flutist Apache, OK Luis Ortega Hispanic-American Rawhide Worker Paradise, CA Ola Belle Reed Appalachian Banjo Picker, Singer Rising Sun, MD Jenny Thlunaut Tlingit Chilkat Blanket Weaver Haines, AK Nimrod Workman Appalachian Ballad Singer
Mascot, TN 
Chattaroy, WV
Juan Alindato Carnival Maskmaker Ponce, PR Louis Bashell Slovenian Accordionist, Polka Master Greenfield, WI Genoveva Castellanoz Mexican-American Corona Maker Nyssa, OR 

Thomas Edison “Brownie” Ford Anglo-Comanche Cowboy Singer,
Storyteller
Hebert, LA
Kansuma Fujima Japanese-American Dancer Los Angeles, CA Claude Joseph Johnson African-American Religious Singer,
Orator
Atlanta, GA
Raymond Kane Hawaiian Slack Key Guitarist, Singer Wai’anae, HI Wade Mainer Appalachian Banjo Picker, Singer Flint, MI Sylvester McIntosh Crucian Singer, 
Bandleader
St. Croix, VI
Allison “Totie” Montana Mardi Gras Chief, Costume Maker New Orleans, LA Alex Moore, Sr. African-American Blues Pianist Dallas, TX 

Emilio & Senaida Romero Hispanic-American Tin & Embroidery
Craftsworkers
Santa Fe, NM
Newton Washburn Split Ash Basketmaker Littleton, NH 

1988 Pedro Ayala Mexican-American Accordionist Donna, TX Kepka Belton Czech-American Egg Painter Ellsworth, KS Amber Densmore New England Quilter, Needleworker Chelsea, VT Michael Flatley Irish-American Stepdancer Palos Park, IL Sister Rosalia Haberl German-American Bobbin Lacemaker Hankinson, ND John Dee Holeman African-American Dancer, Musician,
Singer
Durham, NC


Albert “Sunnyland African-American BChicago, IL Yang Fang Nhu Hmong Weaver, Em

Detroit, MI 

Kenny Sidle Anglo-American FidNewark, OH Willa Mae Ford SmAfrican-American GSt. Louis, MO Clyde “Kindy” SproHawaiian Cowboy Ukulele Player
Kapa’au, HI
Arthel “Doc” WatsoAppalachian Guitar Deep Gap, NC 

1989 John Cephas Piedmont Blues GuWoodford, VA The Fairfield Four African-American GNashville, TN 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP

1987 
National Heritage Awards continued

Jose Gutierrez Mexican Jarocho Musician, Singer Norwalk, CA Richard Avedis Hagopian Armenian Oud Player Visalia, CA Christy Hengel German-American Concertina Maker New Ulm, MN Ilias Kementzides Pontic Greek Lyra Player Norwalk, CT Ethel Kvalheim Norwegian Rosemaler Stoughton, WI Vanessa Paukeigope Morgan Kiowa Regalia Maker Anadarko, OK Mabel E. Murphy Anglo-American Quilter Fulton, MO LaVaughn E. Robinson African-American Tapdancer Philadelphia, PA Earl Scruggs Bluegrass Banjo Player Madison, TN 

Harry V. Shourds Wildlife Decoy Carver Seaville, NJ Chesley Goseyun Wilson Apache Fiddle Maker Tucson, AZ 

1990 Howard Armstrong African-American String Band
Musician
Detroit, MI
Em Bun Cambodian Silk Weaver Harrisburg, PA Natividad Cano Mexican Mariachi Musician Monterey Park, CA Giuseppe & Raffaela DeFranco Southern Italian Musicians 
and Dancers
Belleville, NJ
Maude Kegg Ojibwe Storyteller, Craftsman Onamie, MN Kevin Locke Lakota Flute Player, Singer, Dancer, Storyteller 

Mobridge, SD 

Marie McDonald Hawaiian Lei Maker Kamuela, HI Wallace McRae Cowboy Poet Forsyth, MT Art Moilanen Finnish Accordionist Mass City, MI Emilio Rosado Woodcarver Utuado, PR Robert Spicer Flatfoot Dancer Dickson, TN Douglas Wallin Appalachian Ballad Singer Marshall, NC 

1991 Etta Baker African-American Guitarist Morgantown, NC George Blake Hupa-Yurok Craftsman Hoopa, CA 

Jack Coen Irish-American FlaBronx, NY Rose Frank Nez Perce CornhLapwai, ID Eduardo “Lalo” GMexican-AmericaComposer
Cathedral City, CAKhamvong InsixieLao Southeast AsiFresno, CA Don King Western SaddlemSheridan, WY Riley “B.B.” King African-American Itta Bena, MS 
Las Vegas, NV
Esther Littlefield Tlingit Regalia MaSitka, AK Seisho “Harry” NOkinawan-AmeriHonolulu, HI Irvan Perez Isleno (Canary IslPoydras, LA 

74 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
National Heritage Award

Morgan Sexton Appalachian Banjo Player, Singer Linefork, KY Nikitas Tsimouris Greek-American Bagpipe Player Tarpon Springs, FL Gussie Wells African-American Quilter Oakland, CA Arbie Williams African-American Quilter Oakland, CA Melvin Wine Appalachian Fiddler Copen, WV Francisco Aguabella Afro-Cuban Drummer Manhattan Beach, CA Jerry Brown Southern Stoneware Tradition Potter Hamilton, AL Walker Calhoun Cherokee Musician, Dancer, Teacher Cherokee, NC Clyde Davenport Appalachian Fiddler Monticello, KY 

Belle Deacon Athabascan Basketmaker Grayling, AK Nora Ezell African-American Quilter Eutaw, AL Gerald R. Hawpetoss Menominee & Potowatomi Regalia
Maker
Milwaukee, WI
Fatima Kuinova Bukharan Jewish Singer Rego Park, NY John Naka Bonsai Sculptor Los Angeles, CA Ng Sheung-Chi Chinese Toissan muk’yu Folk Singer New York, NY Marc Savoy Cajun Accordion Maker, Musician Eunice, LA Othar Turner African-American Fife Player Senatobia, MS T. Viswanathan South Indian Flute Master Middletown, CT 

1993 Santiago Almeida Texas-Mexican Conjunto Musician Sunnyside, WA Kenny Baker Bluegrass Fiddler Cottontown, TN Inez Catalon French Creole Singer Kaplan, LA Nicholas & Elena Charles Yupik Woodcarvers, Maskmakers,
Skinsewers
Bethel, AK
Charles Hankins Boatbuilder Lavallette, NJ Nalani Kanaka’ole & Pualani 

Kanaka’ole Kanahele 

Hula Masters Hilo, HI Everett Kapayou Mesquakie Singer Tama, IA McIntosh County Shouters African-American Spiritual, Shout
Performers
Townsend, GA


Elmer Miller Bit & Spur Maker Silversmith Nampa, ID Jack Owens Blues Singer, GuitaBentonia, MS Mone & Vanxay SaLao Weaver, Needl

Loommaker
St. Louis, MO


Liang-xing Tang Chinese-American Bayside, NY 

1994 Liz Carroll Irish-American FiddChicago, IL Clarence Fountain 

& the Blind Boys 

African-American GAtlanta, GA 

Mary Mitchell GabPassamaquoddy BaPrinceton, ME Johnny Gimble Anglo Western SwiDripping Springs, T

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP

1992 
National Heritage Awards continued

Frances Varos Graves Hispanic-American Colcha Embroiderer Ranchos de Taos, NM Violet Hilbert Skagit Storyteller Seattle, WA Sosei Shizuye Matsumoto Japanese Chado Tea Ceremony Master Los Angeles, CA D.L. Menard Cajun Musician, Songwriter Erath, LA Simon Shaheen Arab-American Oud Player Brooklyn, NY Lily Vorperian Armenian Marash-style Embroiderer Glendale, CA Elder Roma Wilson African-American Harmonica Player Blue Springs, MS Bao Mo-Li Chinese-American Jing Erhu Player Flushing, NY Mary Holiday Black Navajo Basketweaver Mexican Hat, UT 

Lyman Enloe Old-Time Fiddler Lee’s Summit, MO Donny Golden Irish-American Stepdancer Brooklyn, NY Wayne Henderson Luthier
Mouth of Wilson, VA
Bea Ellis Hensley Blacksmith Spruce Pine, NC Nathan Jackson Tlingit Alaska Native Woodcarver,


Metalsmith, Dancer
Ketchikan, AK


Danongan Kalanduyan Filipino-American Kulintang Musician San Francisco, CA Robert Jr. Lockwood African-American Delta Blues Guitarist Cleveland, OH Israel “Cachao” Lopez Afro-Cuban Bassist, Composer,
Bandleader
Miami, FL
Nellie Star Boy Menard Lakota Sioux Quiltmaker Rosebud, SD 

Buck Ramsey Cowboy Poet & Singer Amarillo, TX 

1996 Obo Addy Ghanaian-American Drummer,
Ensemble Leader
Portland, OR
Betty Pisio Christenson Ukrainian-American Pysanky (Egg Decoration) Artist Suring, WI Paul Dahlin Swedish-American Fiddler Minneapolis, MN Juan Gutiérrez Puerto Rican Drummer, Bandleader New York City, NY Solomon & Richard Ho’opi’i Hawaiian Singers
Pukalani and Wailuku, Maui, HI
Will Keys Appalachian Banjo Player Gray, TN Joaquin “Jack” Lujan Chamorro Blacksmith Barrigada, GU 

Eva McAdams Shoshone Regalia Fort Washakie, WJohn Henry Meal

Cornelius Wrigh

African-American Worksong Singers Birmingham, AL 

Vernon Owens Anglo Stoneware Seagrove, NC Dolly Spencer Inupiat DollmakeHomer, AK 

1997 Edward Babb “Shout” Band GoTrombonist, BandJamaica, NY Charles Brown West Coast Blues Composer
Berkeley, CA
Gladys LeBlanc CCajun Spinner, WDuson, LA Wenyi Hua Chinese Kunqu OArcadia, CA 

76 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 

1995 
National Heritage Award

Ali Akbar Khan North Indian Sarod Player, Raga
Composer
San Anselmo, CA
Ramón Jóse López Santero, Metalsmith Santa Fe, NM Jim & Jesse McReynolds Bluegrass Musicians Gallatin, TN Phong Nguyen Vietnamese Musician, Scholar Kent, OH Hystercine Rankin African American Quilter Lorman, MS Francis Whitaker Blacksmith, Ornamental Ironworker Carbondale, CO Aspara Dancers: Moly Sam, 

Sam-Oen Tes & Sam-Ang Sam 

Cambodian Traditional Dancers 

and Musicians 

Reston, VA Fort Washington, MD 

Eddie Blazonczyk Polish-American Musician, Bandleader Bridgeview, IL 

Dale Calhoun Anglo-American Boat Builder Tiptonville, TN Bruce Caesar Sac & Fox-Pawnee German
Silversmith
Anadarko, OK
Antonio “Tony” De La Rosa Tejano Conjunto Accordionist Riviera, TX Epstein Brothers: Max, William 

“Willie” & Julius “Julie” 

Jewish Klezmer Musicians Tamarac, FL Sophia “Sophie” George Yakama-Colville Beadworker Gresham, OR Nadjeschda Overgaard Danish-American Hardanger
Needleworker 
Kimballton, IA
Harilaos Papapostolou Greek Byzantine Chanter Potomac, MD Roebuck “Pops” Staples African-American Gospel/Blues
Musician 
Dolton, IL


Claude “The Fiddler” Williams African-American Jazz & Swing
Fiddler
Kansas City, MO


1999 Frisner Augustin Haitian Drummer Brooklyn, NY Lila Greengrass Blackdeer Hocak Black Ash Basketmaker,
Needleworker
Black River Falls, WI
Shirley Caesar African-American Gospel Singer Durham, NC Alfredo Campos Horse-Hair Hitcher Federal Way, WA Mary Louise Defender Wilson Dakotah-Hidatsa Traditionalist,
Storyteller
Shields, ND
Jimmy “Slyde” Godbolt Tap Dancer Hanson, MA Ulysses “Uly” Goode Western Mono Basketmaker North Fork, CA 

Bob Holt Ozark Fiddler Ava, MO Zakir Hussain North Indian MasteSan Anselmo, CA Elliott “Ellie” MannSteel Pan Builder, T

Morgantown, WV 

Mick Moloney Irish Musician Philadelphia, PA Eudokia SorochaniuUkrainian Weaver, 

Pennsauken, NJ 

Ralph W. Stanley Master Boatbuilder Southwest Harbor, 

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUP

1998 
Published by: 


Office of Communications 
National Endowment for the Arts
Cherie Simon, Director
Katherine Wood, Managing Editor
Barbara Koostra, Editor
Revised edition, 2000
Original Edition, 1995, entitled 
National Endowment for the Arts, 1965-1995: A Brief Chronology of Federal 

Involvement of the Arts 

edited by Keith Donohue
With thanks to the staff for their
assistance.
Design:
Simmons Design
Arlington, Virginia


Voice/TYY: (202) 682-5496 
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Individuals who do not use conventional print may contact the Arts
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in an alternate format. Telephone: (202) 682-5532


National Endowment for the Arts 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Washington, DC 20506-0001 (202) 682-5400 http://arts.endow.gov 

78 THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY OF FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS 
The Pennsylvania Avenue facade of the Nancy Hanks Center at the Old Post Office Building in Washington, D.C. The 

building, constructed in the 1890's in the Romanesque Revival style and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is the home of the National Endowment for the Arts. NEA photo.