Which national medal did President Gerald Ford award Georgia O'Keeffe in 1977?

President Gerald Ford awarded Georgia O'Keeffe the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. It is the highest civilian honor in the United States and recognizes especially distinguished contributions to national interests, culture, or other public achievements.

O'Keeffe received the medal after a long career that had made her one of the best-known American modernists. Her large-scale flower paintings, New York city views, abstract works, and New Mexico subjects had given her an unusually broad public and critical reputation.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is different from the National Medal of Arts, which was established later, in 1984. O'Keeffe also received many other honors during her lifetime, but the 1977 presidential medal is the award associated with President Ford. The ceremony recognized her as a major figure in American cultural life.