European museums are rapidly being forced to confront a new economic reality in which the centuries-old tradition of government funding appears to be withering on the vine. “Such is the crisis in government financing for British museums that their acquisitions budgets can no longer match market prices. In the case of the Tate, its buying power is about 5 percent of what it was two decades ago… Is this the moment when corporate sponsorship of major arts institutions finally becomes respectable in Europe? The answers seem obvious. How else can museums remain vigorous?”