Frankenthaler received the National Medal of Arts in 2001. She served on the National Council on the Arts of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1985 to 1992. 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. 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). In 1990 she was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1994.