Frankenthaler received the National Medal of Arts in 2001.[27] She served on the National Council on the Arts of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1985 to 1992.[28] She wrote in The New York Times in 1989 that government funding for the arts was "not part of the democratic process" and was "beginning to spawn an art monster"; the NEA's budget was reduced shortly thereafter.[29] Her other awards include First Prize for Painting at the first Paris Biennial (1959); Temple Gold Medal, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia (1968); New York City Mayor's Award of Honor for Arts and Culture (1986); and Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement, College Art Association (1994).[30] In 1990 she was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1994.