With over four decades of professional experience in the art and decorative arts field, antiques enthusiast Leigh Keno is a sought-after adviser and consultant for some of the country’s leading institutions. He is also an educator in the field of American history and American decorative arts.

1. THE NATIONAL
HUMANITIES
MEDAL
L E I G H K E N O

2. INTRODUCTION
• With over four decades of professional experience in the art and
decorative arts field, antiques enthusiast Leigh Keno is a sought-
after adviser and consultant for some of the country’s leading
institutions. He is also an educator in the field of American
history and American decorative arts. While Leigh Keno has
lectured extensively and written groundbreaking articles in his
field, he has reached millions of viewers through his educational
yet warm interactions with guests as an appraiser on PBS
television. The sum of Leigh Keno's accomplishments earned
him the prestigious National Humanities Medal in 2005.

3. NATIONAL HUMANITIES
MEDAL
• The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awards up to 12
individuals or groups annually with the National Humanities Medal in
recognition of the awardees’ contributions. The award also serves to
expand the public’s understanding of, engagement with, and access to the
most essential resources in the humanities. The medal - which is presented
to its recipients in a ceremony in the Oval Office by the President of the
United States- started as the Charles Frankel Prize in 1988 and was replaced
by the National Humanities Medal in 1997.
In 2013, the NEH sponsored a competition for a new design for the
National Humanities Medal. The challenge was to translate the concept of
the humanities into a visual form. Filipino-American fine artist Paul Balan
created the winning design, which was selected from among 131
submissions.