Which 1985 honor did Georgia O'Keeffe receive from the U.S. government for her artistic achievement?

Georgia O'Keeffe received the National Medal of Arts in 1985.

The National Medal of Arts is an honor presented by the President of the United States to recognize outstanding contributions to the arts. O'Keeffe was among the recipients in 1985, when her long career was already regarded as central to the history of American modernism.

By that time, O'Keeffe had produced major bodies of work involving abstraction, flowers, architecture, bones, and the landscapes of New Mexico. Her achievement was notable not only for individual famous images but also for the sustained originality of her career across many decades.

The National Medal of Arts is distinct from the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which O'Keeffe received in 1977. Both are prestigious national honors, but they belong to different award programs. The later medal therefore should not be dated to Ford's presidency or described as the same honor she received eight years earlier.