New York  - The US arts scene is famously dependent on private philanthropy for its survival. Very little federal, state or city government money comes it way.

That's why museum, theatre and opera directors are watching nervously as Wall Street's financial turmoil shaved nearly 8 per cent off the Dow Jones blue chip stock index this week and two big companies collapsed.

"It's a very challenging time for not-for-profits," Jeffry Peek, a key player in the New York cultural world, told the New York Sun newspaper.

Peek is chief executive officer of CIT Inc, a global commercial and consumer finance company, and a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and New York City Ballet.

A case in point is the planned renovation of New York's cultural temple, Lincoln Center, for which two firms on the chopping block this week had each pledged 3 million dollars.

One of them, Lehman Brothers, declared a 600-billion-dollar bankruptcy on Monday. The other, Merrill Lynch, was swallowed up by Bank of America the same day. It was not clear if either would come through on their pledges, The Sun reported.

In addition to the disappearance of such direct contributors, financial endowments for museums and theatres have seen diminished earnings from their stock portfolios. And New York's culture enthusiasts have cut back on season subscriptions and even single show tickets as their salaries and wages remain stagnant.

The famous Robert Lehman collection of 3,000 works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art won't be affected by Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy, since it's belonged to the museum since 1975.

But the fate of an estimated 3,500 contemporary works of art distributed in worldwide Lehman Brothers branch offices is less clear, Bloomberg financial news agency reported. The New York art dealer Debra Froce said she would not rule out a possible auction of the works. The bank has not commented.

Two weeks ago, the big government-chartered mortgage houses Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were in trouble and are to be rescued by a bailout that could cost taxpayers 200-billion-dollars.

The two firms were among the country's largest sponsors of good works for the country's neediest and homeless, and it was not clear if that support would continue. (dpa)