National Medal of Arts

National Medal of Arts, award given annually by the President of the United States and the National Endowment for the Arts “to individuals or groups who in the President’s judgment are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the arts in the United States.” The president selects the recipients, with the assistance of the National Endowment for the Arts, which solicits and reviews nominations from people involved in the arts (although anyone can submit a nomination). Nominees must be living United States citizens or permanent residents, and organizations must be established or incorporated in the United States.

The National Medal of Arts was first presented in 1985 to seven internationally known artists and five long-time patrons of the arts. The award had been proposed two years earlier by President Ronald Reagan, at the recommendation of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, as a means of recognizing performers and patrons in all branches of the arts. In 1986 Congress passed legislation to present as many as 12 medals annually. Recipients include writer Ralph Ellison, dancer and choreographer Martha Graham, soprano Leontyne Price, painter Richard Diebenkorn, jazz musician Dave Brubeck, dancer and choreographer Gene Kelly, folk musician Pete Seeger, poet and playwright Richard Wilbur, and patron Alice Tully.