Georgia O'Keeffe received the National Medal of Arts in 1985.
President Ronald Reagan presented the honor to O'Keeffe in recognition of her contribution to American art. The National Medal of Arts is the United States government's highest honor for artistic achievement, and O'Keeffe was one of its recipients during the award's early decades.
The medal came eight years after O'Keeffe received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Gerald Ford. Because both awards recognize distinguished American achievement, their dates and names are sometimes mixed up. The 1977 award was the Presidential Medal of Freedom; the 1985 award was the National Medal of Arts.
By 1985, O'Keeffe was in her late nineties and living in New Mexico. She remained a major cultural figure even as failing eyesight made it increasingly difficult for her to paint in her earlier manner.