Which 1977 honor did President Gerald Ford award Georgia O'Keeffe?

President Gerald Ford awarded Georgia O'Keeffe the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor of the United States. It recognizes people who have made especially meritorious contributions to national interests, world peace, cultural life, or other significant public and private achievements. O'Keeffe received the honor late in her career, after decades of influential painting and drawing.

The award is sometimes confused with the National Medal of Arts, another major American cultural honor. O'Keeffe received the National Medal of Arts later, in 1985, from President Ronald Reagan. The two medals are distinct, and the 1977 award was the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

By the time of Ford's presentation, O'Keeffe had become a leading figure in American modernism. Her enlarged flowers, New York imagery, desert landscapes, bones, and architectural forms had established a highly recognizable visual language.