The Murray Reich Distinguished Artist Award

In 2015 the New York Foundation for the Arts/NYFA inaugurated the Murray Reich Distinguished Artist award which annually recognizes a mature artist with a long history of creative practice and enables the awardee to pursue deeper investigations or new explorations that can inform and enrich their work. The Award is based on nomination, and includes an unrestricted cash award made possible by support of an anonymous donor.

Reich’s widow, Elizabeth Weatherford, commented in 2015, “Murray appreciated the capacity of artists to turn to their inner lives, and to draw out ideas, beauty, mistakes, or innovations. He would be so pleased that this award will open up new possibilities for the selected artists, allowing them to devote concentrated time–to working, or reflection, or travel, or producing projects, or developing their archives and websites.”