NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman's Statement on the Death of National Medal of Arts Recipient Will Barnet

"On behalf of the National Endowment for the Arts, it is with great sadness that I acknowledge the passing of artist Will Barnet, recipient of a 2011 National Medal of Arts. A painter, printmaker, and teacher, Barnet is known for his meticulously constructed depictions of family and personal scenes. At the 2011 Medal of Arts ceremony, President Barack Obama said, 'Widely celebrated for a lifelong exploration of abstraction, expressionism, and geometry that marry sophistication and emotion with beauty and form, Mr. Barnet has been a constant force in the visual arts world.' We join the visual arts community and beyond in mourning his death while celebrating his life and his art." Click here for a high resolution photo of Barnet and President Obama at the National Medal of Arts ceremony in the East Room at the White House on February 13, 2012. Photo by Anthony Brown, Imijination Photography.

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