President Gerald Ford awarded Georgia O'Keeffe the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. The honor recognized her major contribution to American culture and art.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States. O'Keeffe received it during a period when her reputation as a pioneering American modernist was firmly established.
The award is sometimes associated with later honors because O'Keeffe also received the National Medal of Arts in 1985, near the end of her life. That was a different presidential award.
O'Keeffe continued to work into old age, although failing eyesight eventually limited her painting. Her cultural influence remained extensive after her death.