National Medal of Arts

National Medal of Arts
Awarded for	Outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States
Country	United States
Presented by	President of the United States & National Endowment for the Arts
Eligibility	Civilians
Established	1984 by the United States Congress
First awarded	1985
Website	www.arts.gov/honors/medals
Ribbon of the medal

The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government. Nominations are submitted to the National Council on the Arts, the advisory committee of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), who then submits its recommendations to the White House for the President of the United States to award.^[1] The medal was designed for the NEA by sculptor Robert Graham.