where the importance of art is made generously clear

The truth that many museums and galleries are free tells us a lot about contemporary society.

It is a wonderful thing that institutions like museums and galleries are open to the whole of society, and we have a handful of people to thank for that above all else; clients of the arts. Clients have been essential to creative endeavour for time immemorial. A few of the best works from all branches of art, from literature to painting to music, just exist due to the fact that the artists were bankrolled by a rich supporter. Today, the role of customers like Bruno Wang and Ulla & Heiner Pietzsch may have pivoted, but it is still just as vital to the institution of human imagination. These generous people donate cash and artifacts to museums and galleries around the world so as to ensure that they can stay available to the public in the manner in which they should. By giving their incredible collections to public o