Which U.S. honor did Georgia O’Keeffe receive in 1986, the year she died?

Georgia O’Keeffe received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1986, the year she died.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the United States’ highest civilian honor. It recognizes especially significant contributions to national interests, world peace, cultural achievement, or other major public endeavors. O’Keeffe’s award reflected her central place in American art and her influence on modern painting.

The timing can cause confusion because she also received the National Medal of Arts in 1985. These are separate honors, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom came later. O’Keeffe died in Santa Fe on March 6, 1986, at age 98, but the award remains associated with that final year of her life.

Her recognition extended beyond a single style or subject. Although many people know her for enlarged flowers and New Mexico landscapes, her career also included abstraction, urban imagery, bones, and architectural forms.