The National Arts Awards are presented by Americans for the Arts annually during National Arts & Humanities Month to distinguish private sector arts leadership.
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.
Not all categories are awarded each year
Christopher Reeve
Awarded by the Arts & Business Council from 1996 to 2004, it became part of the National Arts Awards in 2005.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Lady Gaga - Young Artist Award
Doug Aitken - Outstanding Contributions to the Arts Award
Esperanza Spalding - Ted Arison Young Artist Award
