# National Arts Awards

The National Arts Awards are presented by Americans for the Arts annually during National Arts & Humanities Month to distinguish private sector arts leadership.

## Categories

The National Arts Awards are divided into the following categories:
* Arts Advocacy Award is presented to a noted artist or arts advocate with a track record of advocating for the arts.
* Arts Education Award is presented to a noted artist or arts advocate with a track record of contributing to the advancement of arts education.
* Corporate Citizenship in the Arts Award is presented to a high-profile, major corporate leader with a record of contributing to arts and cultural institutions or initiatives.
* Eli and Edythe Broad Award for Philanthropy in the Arts is presented to an individual with a demonstrable history of philanthropic giving to one or more major arts institutions.
* Isabella and Theodor Dalenson Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to a nationally recognized, established artist with a lifetime of exemplary artistic accomplishment in his or her field.
* The Bell Family Foundation Young Artist Award is presented to an individual who has achieved incredible accomplishments and exemplary leadership while still early in their careers.
* Outstanding Contributions to the Arts celebrates the artistic excellence of an established artist or arts advocate.
* Kitty Carlisle Hart Award, Outstanding Contribution to the Arts Award, was awarded by the Arts & Business Council from 1996 to 2004, it became part of the National Arts Awards in 2005.

## Recipients

Not all categories are awarded each year

### Recipients before 1998
#### Arnold Gingrich Memorial Award

* Marian Anderson
* George Balanchine
* Leonard Bernstein
* Hume Cronyn
* Agnes DeMille
* Martha Graham
* Helen Hayes
* Lincoln Kirstein
* Arthur Mitchell
* Jessye Norman
* William S. Paley
* Joseph Papp
* Itzhak Perlman
* Jason Robards
* Beverly Sills
* Neil Simon
* Stephen Sondheim
* Isaac Stern
* Jessica Tandy
* Billy Taylor
* Lila Acheson Wallace

#### Arts Advocacy Award

* Christopher Reeve

#### Arts Education Award

* Martina Arroyo
* Wynton Marsalis
* Arthur Mitchell

#### Corporate Citizenship in the Arts

* American Express
* AT&T
* FleetBoston Financial Corp.
* General Electric
* IBM Corporation
* JP Morgan Chase & Co.
* The Hearst Corporation
* The McGraw-Hill Companies
* Time Warner/Gerald Levin
* VH1

#### Featured Artist

* Julie Mehretu
* Jeff Koons
* Kenny Scharf

#### Kitty Carlisle Hart Award

Awarded by the Arts & Business Council from 1996 to 2004, it became part of the National Arts Awards in 2005.
* Edward Albee
* Richard Avedon (2003)
* Will Barnet
* Mikhail Baryshnikov
* Harry Belafonte
* Chuck Close
* Betty Comden & Adolf Green
* Barbara Cook
* Merce Cunningham
* Renée Fleming
* Hugh Hardy
* Al Hirschfeld
* Judith Jamison
* Peter Martins
* Yoko Ono
* Nam June Paik
* Gordon Parks (2001)
* James Stewart Polshek
* Harold Prince
* Robert Rauschenberg
* Martin Scorsese
* Anna Deavere Smith
* Paul Taylor

#### Lifetime Achievement Award

* Jason Robards
* Beverly Sills

#### Special Recognition

* Rep. John Brademas
* Rep. Amory Houghton, Jr.
* Rep. Jerrold Nadler

### 1998

* Alec Baldwin, Arts Advocacy Award
* Midori Gotō, Arts Education Award
* Isaac Stern, Colleen Dewhurst Lifetime Achievement Award
* Hugh McColl, Corporate Citizen Award
* Michael H. Jordan and CBS, Special tribute for outstanding vision and exemplary contributions to the arts in America

### 1999

* Hillary Clinton, Arts Advocacy Award
* Agnes Gund, Arts Education Award
* Sanford I. Weill, Corporate Citizen Award
* Jacob Lawrence, Lifetime Achievement Award
* Brooke Astor, Philanthropy Award

### 2000

* Wendy Wasserstein, Arts Advocacy Award
* Peter I. Bijur, Corporate Citizen Award
* Frank Gehry and Thomas Krens, Lifetime Achievement Award
* Jo Carole Lauder, Philanthropy Award
* Uma Thurman, Young Artist Special Recognition Award

### 2001

* Peter Martins, Artistic Leadership Award
* Michael Greene, Arts Advocacy Award
* The Honorable Schuyler Chapin, Arts Education Award
* Robert H. Benmosche, Corporate Citizen Award
* Richard Meier, Lifetime Achievement Award

### 2002

* Cindy Sherman, Artistic Excellence
* Alberto Vilar, Corporate Citizenship in the Arts
* David Rockefeller, Frederick R. Weisman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts
* Pinchas Zukerman, Isaac Stern Award for Excellence in Classical Music
* Dr. Robert S. Martin, Special Recognition for 25 Years of Service
* Kathleen A. Dore, Special Recognition for Excellence in Arts & Media
* Natalie Portman, Young Artist Award

### 2003

* Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Artistic Leadership
* Dr. Vance D. Coffman, Corporate Citizenship in the Arts
* Teresa Heinz, Frederick R. Weisman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts
* Richard Avedon, Lifetime Achievement
* Kirk Varnedoe, Special Memorial Tribute for Extraordinary Contributions to the Arts
* Sofia Coppola, Young Artist Award for Artistic Excellence

### 2004

* Chuck Close, Artistic Leadership and Arts Advocacy
* A.G. Lafley, Procter & Gamble, Corporate Citizenship in the Arts
* Raymond Nasher, Frederick R. Weisman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts
* Paul Taylor, Lifetime Achievement
* William Bassell, Principal, Long Island City High School, Special Arts Education Recognition Award
* Mena Suvari, Young Artist Award for Artistic Excellence

### 2005

* Pierre Dulaine and Yvonne Marceau, Arts Education Award
* Target Corporation, Corporate Citizenship in the Arts
* Eli Broad, Frederick R. Weisman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts
* Mikhail Baryshnikov, Kitty Carlisle Hart Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts
* John Baldessari, Lifetime Achievement Award
* Kerry Washington, Young Artist Award

### 2006

* Jeff Koons, Artistic Achievement Award
* United Technologies Corporation, Corporate Citizenship in the Arts Award
* Sheila C. Johnson, Frederick R. Weisman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts
* Aretha Franklin, Lifetime Achievement Award
* Kitty Carlisle Hart, Special Recognition for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts
* Jake Gyllenhaal, Young Artist Award

### 2007

* Music Industry and NAMM, Corporate Citizenship in the Arts Award
* Wallis Annenberg, Frederick R. Weisman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts
* Anna Deavere Smith, Kitty Carlisle Hart Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts
* Ellsworth Kelly, Lifetime Achievement Award
* The United States Conference of Mayors, Special Recognition in Honor of Its 75th Anniversary
* John Legend, Young Artist Award for Artistic Excellence

### 2008

* Phil Ramone, Arts Advocacy Award
* The Principal Financial Group, Corporate Citizenship in the Arts Award
* Joan W. Harris, Frederick R. Weisman Award for Philanthropy
* Yoko Ono, Kitty Carlisle Hart Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts
* Dame Julie Andrews, Lifetime Achievement Award
* Kehinde Wiley, Young Artist Award for Artistic Excellence

### 2009

* Ed Ruscha, Artistic Excellence Award
* Anne Finucane, Bank of America, Corporate Citizenship in the Arts Award
* Sidney Harman, Frederick R. Weisman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts
* Salman Rushdie, Kitty Carlisle Hart Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts
* Robert Redford, Lifetime Achievement Award

### 2010

* Martha Rivers Ingram, Eli and Edythe Broad Award for Philanthropy in the Arts
* Angela Lansbury, Lifetime Achievement Award
* Kate and Laura Mulleavy, Rodarte, Maria and Bill Bell Young Artist Award
* Herb Alpert, Outstanding Contributions to the Arts Award

### 2011

* Frank Stella, Isabella and Theodor Dalenson Lifetime Achievement Award
* Jenny Holzer, Outstanding Contributions to the Arts
* President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, Arts Education Award
* Gabourey Sidibe, Bell Family Foundation Young Artist Award
* Beverley Taylor Sorenson, Eli and Edythe Broad Award for Philanthropy in the Arts
* Wells Fargo & Company, Corporate Citizenship in the Arts Award

### 2012

* Paul G. Allen, Eli and Edythe Broad Award for Philanthropy in the Arts
* James Rosenquist, Isabella and Theodor Dalenson Lifetime Achievement Award
* Brian Stokes Mitchell, Outstanding Contributions to the Arts Award
* Josh Groban, Bell Family Foundation Young Artist Award
* Lin Arison, Arts Education Award
* AXA Art Insurance Corporation, Corporate Citizenship in the Arts Award

### 2013

* Dakota Fanning - Bell Family Foundation Young Artist Award
* B.B. King – Isabella and Theodor Dalenson Lifetime Achievement Award
* John and Mary Pappajohn – Eli & Edythe Broad Award for Philanthropy in the Arts
* Joel Shapiro – Outstanding Contributions to the Arts Award
* Alberto Carvalho – Arts Education Award

### 2014

* Richard Serra - Lifetime Achievement Award
* David Hallberg - Bell Family Foundation Young Artist Award
* Norie Sato - Public Art Network Award
* Malissa Feruzzi Shriver - Arts Education Award

### 2015

* Lady Gaga - Young Artist Award

### 2016

* Doug Aitken - Outstanding Contributions to the Arts Award
* Esperanza Spalding - Ted Arison Young Artist Award