Curator: Since ancient times, the fine arts were developed and sustained with the aid of large subsidies from the aristocracies and religious institutions that were the public sectors of their day; it is doubtful that the arts would have survived without these subsidies. Clearly, contemporary societies should fulfill their obligation as stewards of cultural heritage without the assistance of aristocracies or religious institutions, so governments must help finance the maintenance, advancement, and enrichment of the fine arts today.
The curator's argument depends on assuming that if contemporary governments help to maintain and enrich the fine arts, private support for the arts will become unnecessary.