What you see is what you see,” the painter Frank Stella said of his paintings in 1964. Nearly four decades later, at a ceremony held at the White House yesterday, he had the opportunity to see a gold medal placed around his neck, as he was honored with the National Medal of the Arts, alongside 11 other recipients, by President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Also winning honors from the president were architect Maya Lin, who designed the Vietnam Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the soprano Jessye Norman, the conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, the actor Rita Moreno, the composer John Williams (of Star Wars fame), Charleston mayor Joseph P. Riley, and director Clint Eastwood.

The highest award presented to artists in the United States, the National Medal of the Arts dates back to 1984 and has previously honored artists including Jacob Lawrence, Georgia O’Keefe, Robert Motherwell, and Jasper Johns. Previously architects who have netted the prize include Frank Gehry, I.M. Pei, and Michael Graves.