RECIPIENTS
MARIE WATT
2024
Marie Watt’s interdisciplinary work draws from history, biography, Haudenosaunee protofeminism, and Indigenous teachings; in it, she explores the intersection of history, community, and storytelling.
JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE SMITH
2023
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith offers poignant perspectives on social issues, politics, and the environment, and critically examines representations of Native Americans in pop culture and art.
JUAN SÁNCHEZ
2022
Juan Sánchez is an influential Nuyorican artist who explores ethnic, racial, and national identity in his multimedia work.
NANCY RUBINS
2021
Nancy Rubins creates dynamic sculptures and drawings that investigate the liminality between two-dimensionality and three-dimensionality, and the intersection of engineering and art.
PETER WILLIAMS
2020
Peter Williams’ vibrant paintings and works on paper combine allegorical tales, personal experiences, current events, and art historical references to actively confront subjects ranging from racism and oppression to environmental destruction.
HOWARDENA PINDELL
2019
Howardena Pindell’s multifacted practice uses abstraction as a way to broach difficult topics including racism, feminism, and exploitation.
NANCY CHUNN
2018
Nancy Chunn is acclaimed for her intricate, multilayered narrative paintings in which she wryly documents world events, history, and the power of the news media.
JUDITH LINHARES
2017
Judith Linhares is renowned for her ebullient, metaphysical depictions of women and animals painted in bright brushstrokes.
SUZAN FRECON
2016
Suzan Frecon is acclaimed for her complex, transporting abstract oil paintings and watercolors that reflect formal interests in color and stroke.
JIM NUTT
2015
Jim Nutt is noted for his intricate and psychological portraits of imaginary women.
MARY WEATHERFORD
2014
Mary Weatherford is noted for her emotionally charged and atmospheric Flashe on linen works that incorporate neon lighting tubes.
DONA NELSON
2013
Widely regarded as one of the most vital, intellectually considered, aggressively tactile and physically inventive American painters of her generation, Dona Nelson is also a highly regarded educator.
DONNA DENNIS
2012
A practicing artist for the past four decades, Donna Dennis is a Guggenheim fellow, multiple NEA grantee and Whitney Biennial alumnus.
JUDITH SHEA
2011
For more than three decades Judith Shea has made a study of the human form in many guises and materials.
JOHN OUTTERBRIDGE
2010
Drawing inspiration from Dada, folk art, and African sculpture, John Outterbridge recycles discarded materials, transforming them into poetic configurations that explore both social and political themes.
LLYN FOULKES
2009
Over the past five decades Llyn Foulkes has been consistently inconsistent, confounding critics and galleries with dramatic changes of direction whenever it seemed he was about to be overtaken by popular acclaim.
PETER SAUL
2008
Peter Saul is an American painter. Inspired equally by comic books and Surrealists, he become an unrelenting critic of various aspects of American culture.
KATHY BUTTERLY
2007
Kathy Butterly’s intricately decorated porcelain sculptures suggest feminine characteristics.
ABOUT THE ARTIST AWARD
In 2007, Artists’ Legacy Foundation created the Artist Award to recognize and honor accomplishments of an outstanding visual artist whose primary medium is painting or sculpture. Each year ten artists, either painters or sculptors, are proposed for the ALF Artist Award by five anonymous nominators selected by the board. The nominators and the jurors are art world peers chosen for their expertise. A jury of three peers makes the final selection. The award is $25,000, and there are no restrictions on the use of funds by the recipient.
JURORS
2024 JURORS
Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe, museum director
William Moreno, art advisor, curator, and writer
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, artist and educator
2023 JURORS
Lewis deSoto, artist
Brenda Goodman, artist
Juan Sánchez, artist and educator
2022 JURORS
Derek Fordjour, artist
Miguel Luciano, artist and educator
Dr. Monica Ramirez-Montagut, museum director
2021 JURORS
Mary Ceruti, curator and museum director
Julia Couzens, artist and writer
Craig Nagasawa, artist and educator
2020 JURORS
Eve Aschheim, artist and educator
Valerie Cassel Oliver, curator
Dennis Elliott, artist and arts administrator
2019 JURORS
Greg Colson, artist
T.J. Dedeaux-Norris, artist
Melissa Meyer, artist
2018 JURORS
Elizabeth Neilson Armstrong, museum director and curator
Hung Liu, artist
Stephen Westfall, artist
2017 JURORS
Linda Fleming, artist
David Pagel, art critic, curator, and educator
Scott A. Shields, museum director, curator, and scholar
2016 JURORS
Michael Auping, curator and scholar
Suzanne Caporael, artist
Jane Hammond, artist
2015 JURORS
Julie Joyce, curator and writer
Lucinda Parker, artist
Peter Shelton, artist
2014 JURORS
Jennifer Gross, curator
Franklin Sirmans, curator, author, and museum director
Jodi Throckmorton, curator
2013 JURORS
Ron Bechet, artist
Sarah McEneaney, artist
Lawrence Rinder, curator and museum director
2012 JURORS
Bill Berkson, poet, art critic, and teacher
Lesley Dill, artist
Beverly McIver, artist
2011 JURORS
Nene Humphrey, artist
Katherine Sherwood, artist
Lilly Wei, independent curator, essayist and critic
2010 JURORS
Mildred Howard, artist
Barbara MacAdam, deputy editor of ARTnews
Robert Taplin, artist
2009 JURORS
Christopher Brown, artist
Michael Duncan, critic and independent curator
Judy Pfaff, artist
2008 JURORS
Polly Apfelbaum, artist
Richard Kalina, artist and critic
Gay Outlaw, artist
2007 JURORS
Mike Henderson, artist
Judith Shea, artist
John Yau, art critic, poet, essayist, and prose writer