17 Are Honored In Arts Fields

The National Medal of Arts and the Charles Frankel Prize were awarded yesterday to 16 people and an organization. The 12 winners of the arts medal, which has been awarded annually to distinguished artists and patrons since 1984, were chosen by President Clinton in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Frankel Prize, awarded annually by the National Endowment for the Humanities, went to five Americans who have brought the humanities to a wide public audience. The prize, established six years ago, is named in honor of Charles Frankel (1917-1979), a professor of philosophy at Columbia University who was Assistant Secretary of State for Cultural Affairs and the first director of the Humanities Center in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Senator Claiborne Pell, Democrat of Rhode Island, received the Presidential Citizens Medal in recognition of his advocacy of the arts and humanities. Mr. Pell is the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Education, Arts and Humanities.

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