Art sales tend to be a safe bet during rough financial times, but many museums are fearful of what may lie in their futures.

“We know there’s a storm at sea and we know it’s going to hit land and it could get ugly,” said Glenn D. Lowry, the MOMA museum director. “But we don’t know how hard it will be or when it’s coming. So we are trying to make educated guesses.”

As a result, the museum instituted a temporary hiring freeze last week as well as a 10 percent cut in its general operating budget that will be revisited in December. [nytimes]

A lot of funding for museums comes not only from paying members (like the 115,000 signed up by MoMA who fork out anywhere from $50 to $60,000 for their privileges), but from people and companies who donate money. 

“Many predict that the impact of the slowdown will become far clearer at the end of the year, by which time most individuals will have made their annual tax-deductible donations. Museum officials will also be holding their breath to see whether loyal donors continue to give art or will be forced to sell part of their collections to raise capital for themselves.”