With this issue The New Criterion concludes its thirty-third season. It is gratifying to speculate about the pleasure that the magazine’s longevity and vibrancy would give to our founding editor Hilton Kramer. We doubt that, when he left his position as chief art critic for The New York Times to start The New Criterion in 1982, he would have predicted such a long and, if we may say so, distinguished career for the magazine. We could never have achieved this milestone if it were not for the small but growing band of readers who understand the importance of robust cultural criticism to the health of a democratic society more and more inured to politically correct intellectual conformity. Thank you, all. As we end another season, we would like to pay homage to the institutions and individuals whose leadership has made our work possible. In particular, the late-lamented John M. Olin Foundation was there at the very beginning and supported our work for decades. The Sarah Scaife Foundation and the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundations have likewise been essential partners. We are more grateful than we can say for their stalwart and enlightened support. Starting a cultural monthly that was at once serious, conservative, and devoted to the highest values of the Western tradition struck many people as an eccentricity bordering on folly. And yet here we are thirty-three years later. In recent years, Olin, Scaife, and Bradley have been joined by other partisans of permanent things. The late Donald Kahn intervened at a critical moment to provide generous and essential support for more than a decade. This year, in addition to acknowledging the key support of a few anonymous donors—you know who you are—we want to mention our Editors’ Circle donors Laurel and Cliff Asness, The Carson-Myre Charitable Foundation, James Piereson, Arthur Cinader, Richard Hough, Virginia James, Thomas D. Klingenstein, The Pinkerton Foundation, The J. M. Foundation, The Marcus Foundation, The Fred Maytag Family Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The Thomas W. Smith Foundation, and George Yeager. We thank you all for your continued support of our endeavors. The New Criterion could not exist without you.
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This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 33 Number 10, on page 3
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