WASHINGTON, DC.-President George W. Bush today announced the recipients of the 2005 National Medal of Arts. Ten medals will be presented by the President and Mrs. Laura Bush in an Oval Office ceremony at the White House on November 10. The National Endowment for the Arts notified the artists of their selection to receive a National Medal of Arts, the nation's highest honor for artistic excellence.

"These individuals and organization have all made significant and enduring contributions to the artistic life of our nation," said National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia. "Whether through pioneering film animation, writing memorable novels, championing jazz, or creating new dance styles, their work has transformed the ways we experience and appreciate the world."

The 2005 National Medal of Arts Recipients:Louis Auchincloss, author, New York, NY; James DePreist, symphony orchestra conductor, New York, NY; Paquito D'Rivera, jazz musician, composer, writer, North Bergen, NJ; Robert Duvall, actor, Plains, VA; Leonard Garment, arts patron and advocate, New York, NY; Ollie Johnston, film animator and artist, Burbank, CA; Wynton Marsalis, trumpeter, composer, Jazz at Lincoln Center artistic director, New York, NY; Dolly Parton, singer, songwriter, Pigeon Forge, TN (Ms. Parton will not be in attendance. She will receive her medal at a later date.) Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, school of fine arts/museum, Phildelphia, PA; Tina Ramirez, choreographer, Ballet Hispanico artistic director, New York, NY.

The National Medal of Arts, established by Congress in 1984, is awarded by the President to those who have made extraordinary contributions to the creation, growth, and support of the arts in the United States. Each year, the Arts Endowment seeks nominations from individuals and organizations across the country. The National Council on the Arts, the Arts Endowment’s Presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed advisory body, reviews the nominations and provides recommendations to the President, who selects the recipients.

The National Endowment for the Arts gratefully acknowledges The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities for its support of the 2005 National Medal of Arts.