American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medals

Two American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medals are awarded each year by the academy for distinguished achievement. The two awards are taken in rotation from these categories:
*Belles Lettres and Criticism, and Painting;
*Biography and Music;
*Fiction and Sculpture;
*History and Architecture, including Landscape Architecture;
*Poetry and Music;
*Drama and Graphic Art.

The Academy voted in 1915 to establish an additional Gold Medal for "special distinction" to be given for the entire work of the recipient who is not a member of the academy. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=990DE7DB153BE233A25752C2A9679D946496D6CF&scp=557&sq=american+academy+of+arts+and+letters&st=p "Mr. Howells and Dr. Eliot,"] "New York Times." November 21, 1915.] The first of these occasional lifetime achievement gold medals was awarded in the next year to former Harvard President, Charles Eliot. [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A06E7DB153BE233A25752C2A9679D946496D6CF "Gold Medal for Dr. Eliot; President Emeritus of Harvard Honored by American Academy of Arts,"] "New York Times." November 21, 1915; [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9D0DE4D81E38E633A2575BC2A9679C946796D6CF "Gold Medal for Dr. Eliot; American Academy Honors Educator's Work for Literature,"] "New York Times." January 28, 1916.]

Awards in individual categories are listed below (in alphabetical order) followed by a list of all prizes in reverse chronological order:

pecial distinction

*1916 — Charles William Eliot [see above] ]

Architecture

*2008 — Richard Meiervan Gelder, Lawrence. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04EFD6133EF934A25757C0A96E9C8B63&scp=1&sq=american+academy+of+arts+and+letters&st=nyt "Arts, Briefly: American Academy Picks Caro and Trillin,"] "New York Times." April 17, 2008.]
*2002 — Frank O. Gehry
*1996 — Philip Johnson
*1999 — Kevin Roche
*1984 — Gordon Bunshaft
*1979 — I. M. Pei
*1973 — Louis I. Kahn
*1968 — R. Buckminster Fuller
*1963 — Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
*1958 — Henry R. Shepley
*1953 — Frank Lloyd Wright
*1949 — Frederick Law Olmsted
*1940 — William Adams Delano
*1930 — Charles Adams Platt
*1921 — Cass Gilbert
*1912 — William Rutherford Mead [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=980DE3D71231E233A25750C1A9649D946396D6CF "National Institute Honors W.R. Mead; Its Gold Medal Awarded to Noted Architect at the Annual Dinner,"] "New York Times." December 13, 1912.]

Belles lettres, criticism, essays

*2005 — Joan Didionvan Gelder, Lawrence. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806E4DA1739F93AA25756C0A9639C8B63&scp=8&sq=american+academy+of+arts+and+letters&st=nyt "Arts, Briefly: American Academy Honors,"] "New York Times." May 19, 2005.]
*1999 — Harold Bloom
*1993 — Elizabeth Hardwick
*1987 — Jacques Barzun
*1981 — Malcolm Cowley
*1975 — Kenneth Burke
*1965 — Walter Lippmann
*1960 — E. B. White
*1955 — Edmund Wilson
*1950 — H. L. Mencken
*1946 — Van Wyck Brooks
*1935 — Agnes Repplier
*1925 — William Crary Brownell
*1916 — John Burroughs

Biography

*2006 — Robert Caro
*2000 — R. W. B. Lewis
*1994 — Walter Jackson Bate
*1988 — James Thomas Flexner
*1982 — Francis Steegmuller
*1976 — Leon Edel

Drama

*2004 — John Guare
*1998 — Horton Foote
*1992 — Sam Shepard
*1986 — Sidney Kingsley
*1980 — Edward Albee
*1969 — Tennessee Williams
*1964 — Lillian Hellman
*1959 — Arthur Miller
*1954 — Maxwell Anderson
*1941 — Robert E. Sherwood
*1931 — William Gillette
*1922 — Eugene O'Neill
*1913 — Augustus Thomas [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9400E1DC1730E233A25754C1A9679D946296D6CF "Thomas Visits Mother; Playwright Shows Her the Medal Presented to Him by Academy,"] "New York Times." November 17, 1913.]

Fiction, novel, short story

*2007 — John Updikevan Gelder, Lawrence. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE6DB1031F934A25756C0A9619C8B63&scp=4&sq=american+academy+of+arts+and+letters&st=nyt "Arts, Briefly: American Academy Honors,"] "New York Times." May 17, 2007.]
*2001 — Philip Roth
*1995 — William Maxwell
*1989 — Isaac Bashevis Singer
*1982 — Bernard Malamud
*1978 — Peter Taylor
*1977 — Saul Bellow
*1972 — Eudora Welty
*1962 — William Faulkner
*1957 — John Dos Passos
*1952 — Thornton Wilder
*1944 — Willa Cather
*1933 — Booth Tarkington
*1929 — Edith Wharton
*1924 — Mrs. Schuyler Van RensselaerNote that "Mrs. Van Rensselaer" is the one used by the academy in its official listing because it was most often used by the writer herself; however, the Wikipedia article's title does reflect more modern feminist sensibilities.]

*1915 — William Dean Howells [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9C00E6D8133FE233A25753C2A9679D946496D6CF "National Institute Honors Howells; His Letter, Thanking It for Gold Medal, Says Fashion in Novels Has Changed,"] "New York Times." November 20, 1915.]

Graphic art

*1998 — Frank Stella
*1992 — David Levine
*1986 — Jasper Johns
*1980 — Peggy Bacon
*1974 — Saul Steinberg
*1969 — Leonard Baskin
*1964 — Ben Shahn
*1959 — George Grosz
*1954 — Reginald Marsh
*1948 — Bruce Rogers

History

*2008 — Edmund S. Morgan [see above] ]
*2002 — John Hope Franklin
*1996 — Peter Gay
*1990 — C. Vann Woodward
*1984 — George F. Kennan
*1972 — Henry Steele Commager
*1967 — Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
*1957 — Allan Nevins
*1952 — Carl Sandburg
*1948 — Charles Austin Beard
*1937 — Charles M. Andrews
*1927 — William M. Sloane
*1918 — William Roscoe Thayer
*1910 — James Ford Rhodes

Music

*2006 — Stephen Sondheim
*2003 — Ned Roremvan Gelder, Lawrence. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE2D9123EF93AA25756C0A9659C8B63&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss "Arts Briefing: American Academy Honors,"] "New York Times." May 19, 2003.]
*2000 — Lukas Foss
*1997 — Gunther Schuller
*1994 — Hugo Weisgall
*1991 — David Diamond
*1988 — Milton Babbitt
*1985 — Leonard Bernstein
*1982 — William Schuman
*1976 — Samuel Barber
*1971 — Elliott Carter
*1966 — Virgil Thomson
*1961 — Rogers H. Sessions
*1956 — Aaron Copland
*1951 — Igor Stravinsky
*1947 — John Alden Carpenter
*1942 — Ernest Bloch
*1938 — Walter Damrosch
*1928 — George W. Chadwick
*1919 — Charles M. Loeffler

Painting

*2005 — Jane Freilicher
*1999 — Robert Rauschenberg
*1993 — Richard Diebenkorn
*1987 — Isabel Bishop
*1981 — Raphael Soyer
*1975 — Willem De Kooning
*1970 — Georgia O'Keeffe
*1965 — Wyeth
*1960 — Charles E. Burchfield
*1955 — Edward Hopper
*1950 — John Sloan
*1942 — Cecilia Beaux
*1932 — Gari Melchers
*1925 — Cecilia Beaux
*1923 — Edwin H. Blashfield
*1914 — John Singer Sargent

Poetry

*2003 — W. S. Merwin [see above] ]
*1997 — John Ashbery
*1991 — Richard Wilbur
*1985 — Robert Penn Warren
*1979 — Archibald MacLeish
*1973 — John Crowe Ransom
*1968 — W. H. Auden
*1963 — William Carlos Williams
*1958 — Conrad Aiken
*1953 — Marianne Moore
*1939 — Robert Frost
*1929 — Edwin Arlington Robinson
*1911 — James Whitcomb Riley

culpture

*2007 — Martin Puryear [see above] ]
*2001 — Richard Serra
*1995 — George Rickey
*1989 — Louise Bourgeois
*1983 — Louise Nevelson
*1977 — Isamu Noguchi
*1971 — Alexander Calder
*1966 — Jacques Lipchitz
*1961 — William Zorach
*1956 — Ivan Mestrovic
*1951 — James Earle Fraser
*1945 — Paul Manship
*1936 — George G. Barnard
*1930 — Anna Hyatt Huntington
*1926 — Herbert Adams
*1917 — Daniel Chester French
*1909 — Augustus Saint-Gaudens [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9504E4DC143EE033A25752C2A9679D946897D6CF "Men of Letters Honor St. Gaudens; First Gold Medal of Their Institute Is a Tribute to Memory of the Dead Sculptor. Given to Mrs. St. Gaudens; Notable Men at Ceremonial Where Dr. Van Dyke Makes Principal Address -- Letter from President,"] "New York Times." November 21, 1909.]

All winners

*2008 — Richard Meier, architecture. [see above] ]

*2008 — Edmund S. Morgan, history. [see above] ]

*2007 — John Updike, Fiction. [see above] ]

*2007 — Martin Puryear, Sculpture. [see above] ]
*2006 — Robert Caro, Biography.

*2006 — Stephen Sondheim, Music.

*2005 — Joan Didion, Belles Lettres and Criticism. [see above] ]

*2005 — Jane Freilicher, Painting.

*2004 — John Guare, Drama.

*2004 — Chuck Close, Graphic Art.

*2003 — W. S. Merwin, Poetry. [see above] ]

*2003 — Ned Rorem, Music. [see above] ]

*2002 — Frank O. Gehry, Architecture

*2002 — John Hope Franklin, History

*2001 — Philip Roth, Fiction

*2001 — Richard Serra, Sculpture

*2000 — R. W. B. Lewis, Biography

*2000 — Lukas Foss, Music

*1999 — Robert Rauschenberg, Painting

*1999 — Harold Bloom, Belles Lettres
*1998 — Horton Foote, Drama

*1998 — Frank Stella, Graphic Art

*1997 — John Ashbery, Poetry

*1997 — Gunther Schuller, Music

*1996 — Peter Gay, History

*1996 — Philip Johnson, Architecture

*1995 — William Maxwell, Fiction

*1995 — George Rickey, Sculpture

*1994 — Walter Jackson Bate, Biography

*1994 — Hugo Weisgall, Music

*1993 — Richard Diebenkorn, Painting

*1993 — Elizabeth Hardwick, Belles Lettres/Criticism

*1992 — David Levine, Graphic Art

*1992 — Sam Shepard, Drama

*1991 — David Diamond, Music

*1991 — Richard Wilbur, Poetry

*1999 — Kevin Roche, Architecture

*1990 — C. Vann Woodward, History

*1989 — Louise Bourgeois, Sculpture

*1989 — Isaac Bashevis Singer, Fiction

*1988 — Milton Babbitt, Music

*1988 — James Thomas Flexner, Biography

*1987 — Jacques Barzun, Belles Lettres

*1987 — Isabel Bishop, Painting

*1986 — Jasper Johns, Graphic Art

*1986 — Sidney Kingsley, Drama

*1985 — Leonard Bernstein, Music

*1985 — Robert Penn Warren, Poetry

*1984 — Gordon Bunshaft, Architecture

*1984 — George F. Kennan, History

*1983 — Louise Nevelson, Sculpture

*1982 — William Schuman, Music

*1982 — Francis Steegmuller, Biography

*1982 — Bernard Malamud, Fiction

*1981 — Malcolm Cowley, Belles Lettres

*1981 — Raphael Soyer, Painting

*1980 — Edward Albee, Drama

*1980 — Peggy Bacon, Graphic Art

*1979 — Archibald MacLeish, Poetry

*1979 — I. M. Pei, Architecture

*1978 — Peter Taylor, Short Story

*1978 — Barbara W. Tuchman, History

*1977 — Saul Bellow, Novel

*1977 — Isamu Noguchi, Sculpture

*1976 — Samuel Barber, Music

*1976 — Leon Edel, Biography

*1975 — Kenneth Burke, Belles Lettres

*1975 — Willem De Kooning, Painting

*1974 — Saul Steinberg, Graphic Art

*1973 — Louis I. Kahn, Architecture

*1973 — John Crowe Ransom, Poetry

*1972 — Henry Steele Commager, History

*1972 — Eudora Welty, Novel

*1971 — Alexander Calder, Sculpture

*1971 — Elliott Carter, Music

*1970 — Lewis Mumford, Belles Lettres

*1970 — Georgia O'Keeffe, Painting

*1969 — Leonard Baskin, Graphic Art

*1969 — Tennessee Williams, Drama

*1968 — W. H. Auden, Poetry

*1968 — R. Buckminster Fuller, Architecture

*1967 — Katherine Anne Porter, Fiction

*1967 — Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., History

*1966 — Jacques Lipchitz, Sculpture

*1966 — Virgil Thomson, Music

*1965 — Walter Lippmann, Essays

*1965 — Wyeth, Painting

*1964 — Lillian Hellman, Drama

*1964 — Ben Shahn, Graphic Art

*1963 — Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Architecture

*1963 — William Carlos Williams, Poetry

*1962 — William Faulkner, Fiction

*1962 — Samuel Eliot Morison, History

*1961 — Rogers H. Sessions, Music

*1961 — William Zorach, Sculpture

*1960 — Charles E. Burchfield, Painting

*1960 — E. B. White, Essays

*1959 — George Grosz, Graphic Art

*1959 — Arthur Miller, Drama

*1958 — Conrad Aiken, Poetry

*1958 — Henry R. Shepley, Architecture

*1957 — John Dos Passos, Fiction

*1957 — Allan Nevins, History

*1956 — Aaron Copland, Music

*1956 — Ivan Mestrovic, Sculpture

*1955 — Edward Hopper, Painting

*1955 — Edmund Wilson, Essays

*1954 — Maxwell Anderson, Drama

*1954 — Reginald Marsh, Graphic Art

*1953 — Marianne Moore, Poetry

*1953 — Frank Lloyd Wright, Architecture

*1952 — Carl Sandburg, History

*1952 — Thornton Wilder, Fiction

*1951 — James Earle Fraser, Sculpture

*1951 — Igor Stravinsky, Music

*1950 — H. L. Mencken, Essays

*1950 — John Sloan, Painting

*1949 — Frederick Law Olmsted, Architecture

*1948 — Charles Austin Beard, History

*1948 — Bruce Rogers, Graphic Arts

*1947 — John Alden Carpenter, Music

*1946 — Van Wyck Brooks, Essays

*1945 — Paul Manship, Sculpture

*1944 — Willa Cather, Fiction

*1943 — Stephen Vincent Benet, Literature

*1942 — Cecilia Beaux, Painting

*1942 — Ernest Bloch, Music

*1941 — Robert E. Sherwood, Drama

*1940 — William Adams Delano, Architecture

*1939 — Robert Frost, Poetry

*1938 — Walter Damrosch, Music

*1937 — Charles M. Andrews, History

*1936 — George G. Barnard, Sculpture

*1935 — Agnes Repplier, Belles Lettres

*1933 — Booth Tarkington, Fiction

*1932 — Gari Melchers, Painting

*1931 — William Gillette, Drama

*1930 — Charles Adams Platt, Architecture

*1930 — Anna Hyatt Huntington, Sculpture

*1929 — Edwin Arlington Robinson, Poetry

*1929 — Edith Wharton, Fiction

*1928 — George W. Chadwick, Music

*1927 — William M. Sloane, History

*1926 — Herbert Adams, Sculpture

*1925 — Cecilia Beaux, Painting

*1925 — William Crary Brownell, Belles Lettres

*1924 — Edith Wharton, Fiction

*1923 — Edwin H. Blashfield, Painting

*1923 — Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer, Fiction. [see above] ]

*1922 — Eugene O'Neill, Drama

*1921 — Cass Gilbert, Architecture

*1919 — Charles M. Loeffler, Music

*1918 — William Roscoe Thayer, History

*1917 — Daniel Chester French, Sculpture

*1916 — John Burroughs, Belles Lettres

*1916 — Charles William Eliot, Special distinction. [see above] ]

*1915 — William Dean Howells, Fiction. [see above] ]

*1914 — John Singer Sargent, Painting

*1913 — Augustus Thomas, Drama. [see above] ]

*1912 — William Rutherford Mead, Architecture. [see above] ]

*1911 — James Whitcomb Riley, Poetry

*1910 — James Ford Rhodes, History

*1909 — Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Sculpture. [see above] ]

Notes

ee also

*List of American literary awards
*List of literary awards
*List of prizes, medals, and awards
*List of poetry awards
*American literature
*American poetry
*List of poetry awards
*List of literature awards
*List of years in poetry
*List of years in literature
*List of years in art

External links

* American Academy of Arts & Letters: [http://www.artsandletters.org www.artsandletters.org official website]