After leaving the chairmanship of the National Endowment for the Arts, Jane Alexander revealed to the New York Times just how damaging the arts agency's critics have been.

"Ms. Alexander," the Times reported, "said that the persistent assault by conservatives had a chilling effect on the willingness of arts groups to apply for federal aid. 'What has happened is that the applicants themselves are not sending in proposals for provocative work because they want to get funded,' she said.

"Ms. Alexander said artists were 'very astute' and so were now seeking support for controversial work elsewhere."

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