The Medal of Arts was established by Congress in 1984 to be selected by the National Endowment for the Arts and be awarded by the President of the United States of America. It is given to artists and art patrons who are, as the site says, “deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States.” Nearly 300 artists in areas from dance, film, design, architecture, literature, music, painting, sculpture, theater, and more have been given the honor. Only those awarded for music are recognized on this page.
See other lifetime achievement awards.
- Maurice Abravanel (1991)
- Roy Acuff (1991)
- Licia Albanese (1995)
- Herb Alpert (2012)
- Marian Anderson (1986)
- Eddy Arnold (2000)
- Harry Belafonte (1994)
- William Bolcom (2006)
- Dave Brubeck (1994)
- Sarah Caldwell (1996)
- Cab Calloway (1993)
- Benny Carter (1993)
- Betty Carter (1997)
- Elliott Carter Jr. (1985)
- Johnny Cash (2001)
 Johnny Cash receives the Medal of Arts from President Bush, image from bbc.co.uk
- Ray Charles (1993)
- Van Cliburn (2010)
- Aaron Copland (1986)
- Mary Costa (2020)
- John O. Crosby (1991)
- Celia Cruz (1994)
- Dorothy DeLay (1994)
- James DePriest (2005)
- David Diamond (1995)
- Fats Domino (1998)
- Paquito D’Rivera (2005)
- Bob Dylan (2009)
- Ramblin’ Jack Elliott (1998)
- Fisk Jubilee Singers (2008)
- Ella Fitzgerald (1987)
- Renée Fleming (2012)
- Carlisle Floyd (2004)
- Aretha Franklin (1999)
- Dizzy Gillespie (1989)
- Philip Glass (2015)
- Francis Goelet (1988)
- Berry Gordy Jr. (2015)
- Eduardo “Lalo” Guerrero (1996)
- Buddy Guy (2003)
- Lionel Hampton (1996)
- Kitty Carlisle Hart (1991)
- Marilyn Horne (1992)
- Vladimir Horowitz (1989)
- Santiago Jiménez, Jr. (2015)
- George Jones (2002)
- Henry “Hank” Jones (2008)
- Quincy Jones (2010)
- John Kander (2013)
- Toby Keith (2020)
- Gene Kelly (1994)
- B.B. King (1990)
 1990 Medal of Arts recipient B.B. King, image from longshotsblues.files.wordpress.com
- Alison Krauss (2019)
- Erich Kunzel (2006)
- Morten Lauridsen (2007)
- James Levine (1997)
- Alan Lomax (1986)
- Yo-Yo Ma (2001)
- Wynton Marsalis (2005)
- Lydia Mendoza (1999)
- Robert Merrill (1993)
- Meredith Monk (2014)
- Bill Monroe (1995)
- Rita Moreno (2009)
- Mormon Tabernacle Choir (2003)
- Jessye Norman (2009)
- Odetta (1999)
- Dolly Parton (2005)
- Les Paul (2007)
- Minnie Pearl (1992)
- Itzhak Perlman (2000)
- Roberta Peters (1998)
- Preservation Hall Jazz Band (2008)
- The Presser Foundation (2008)
- Leontyne Price (1985)
- Tito Puento (1997)
- Smokey Robinson (2002)
- Sonny Rollins (2010)
- Linda Ronstadt (2013)
- William Schuman (1987)
- Earl Scruggs (1992)
- Pete Seeger (1994)
- Rudolf Serkin (1988)
- Robert Shaw (1992)
- Richard Sherman (2008)
- Robert Sherman (2008)
- George Shirley (2014)
- Beverly Sills (1990)
- Ricky Skaggs (2020)
- Leonard Slatkin (2003)
- Stephen Sondheim (1996)
- Ralph Stanley (2006)
- Isaac Stern (1991)
- George Strait (2003)
- Barbra Streisand (2000)
- Billy Taylor (1992)
- James Taylor (2010)
- Michael Tilson Thomas (1988)
- Mel Tillis (2011)
 President Barack Obama awards singer Mel Tillis the Medal of Arts, image from zimbio.com
- Allen Toussaint (2012)
- University of Idaho Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival (2007)
- Doc Watson (1997)
- Andre Watts (2011)
- John Williams (2009)
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First posted 2/13/2012; last updated 1/15/2021. |
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