Jo Carole Lauder
National Medal of Arts recipient Jo Carole Lauder with President and First Lady Biden. Photo courtesy of White House
Bio
Jo Carole Lauder has long been devoted to the arts and civic causes. She was the president of the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for 16 years and is currently president emerita. At MoMA, she has been a member of the Contemporary Arts Council since 1970, served as chairman (and is now honorary chairman), and was the founder of the Junior Associates. She is a member of the Trustee Committees on Architecture and Design, Film and Video, and Photography, and a member of the Chairman's Council. With the Checkerboard Film Foundation, Lauder was an associate producer of a documentary on the history of the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, and producer of the films Ellsworth Kelly: Fragments and Sol LeWitt: Wall Drawings. As the wife of the ambassador to Austria, she was instrumental in the showing of two major exhibitions in Vienna: a print retrospective of Jasper Johns and works of Sol LeWitt. She furnished a wing in the embassy residence with American folk art and, upon leaving Vienna, donated the furnishings to the State Department. Lauder is chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies, which contributes art to the State Department; a member of the Trustees of the Mount Sinai Medical Center; a member of the Board of the American Friends of the Israel Museum; a member of the Trustees’ Council at the National Gallery of Art; and a member of the White House Historical Association's National Council on White House History. She is a former member of the Dean's Council of the Yale School of Art. Lauder was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, and received a BFA from the Tyler School of Fine Arts in Philadelphia.
White House citation:
For devoted support of the arts, culture, and civic causes in America. A renowned philanthropist leading an array of causes — from supporting the White House Historical Association to refurbishing and preserving United States embassies abroad to inspiring participation in Jewish life worldwide —Jo Carole Lauder channels her creative talents to beautify the spirit of our Nation.
I am honored to receive the National Medal of Arts from President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. I share Dr. Biden's passion for arts education and ensuring it is accessible to all children. I believe strongly that American art is a means to tell our nation's story and express our values and culture. This commitment has been central to my work with the Museum of Modern Art and the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies and many other cultural institutions for more than 50 years. American art allows new generations to share their voices and vision, which reflect our everchanging society. It highlights commonalities and celebrates differences through a universal language that transcends boundaries and conflict. Art is another means of diplomacy, one that brings people together. Whether through an installation at our embassy in Dar es Salaam or jazz musicians, ballet dancers, actors, or singers’ cultural diplomacy, these initiatives showcase a very real side of who we are as a country—one that promotes creative expression and enhances the opportunity to engage the world community. I am honored to have played a role in bringing American art and artists to U.S. embassies in more than 140 countries. I have dedicated my life to uplifting the efforts of artists and institutions who create, connect, and inspire. Thank you for this incredible recognition.