President George W. Bush awarded the 2005 National Humanities Medal this past Thursday, November 10, to eleven distinguished Americans and one scholarly research project for their contributions to the humanities. At a White House ceremony, the President presented the National Humanities Medal to Leigh and Leslie Keno (pictured), Walter Berns, Matthew Bogdanos, Eva Brann, John Lewis Gaddis, Richard Gilder, Mary Ann Glendon, Alan Charles Kors, Lewis Lehrman, Judith Martin, and the Papers of George Washington Project at the University of Virginia.

The National Humanities Medal, first awarded in 1989 as the Charles Frankel Prize, honors individuals and organizations whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities, broadened citizens’ engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand America’s access to important humanities resources.

“It was very exciting for the whole family,” commented Leigh after the ceremony, which included dinner at the White House after the oval office presentation. The Keno brothers were joined at the ceremony by their wives and children, as well as brother Mitchell and the twin’s father Ron. “Leslie and I had a great time and it was a very special day for our entire family,” he said. “It was especially exciting when President Bush put the medals around our necks.”

The Keno brothers surmised that the award was presented to them “mostly because of our involvement with the Antiques Roadshow and because we encourage younger people to get involved and interested in history and antiques.”

New York City antiques dealer Leigh Keno is president of Leigh Keno American Antiques. During the past 18 years, he has helped build some of the top institutional and private collections of American furniture and decorative arts. Actively involved in the field of American antiques since childhood, he was a fellow at Historic Deerfield and visiting scholar at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware. After receiving a BA in art history from Hamilton College in 1979, Leigh came to New York City and joined William Doyle Galleries, where he was director of the American furniture department. In 1984 he joined Christie’s, first serving as vice president of its appraisal company and later joining the American furniture department as a senior specialist.

From 2001 through 2005, he and his twin brother wrote monthly furniture and design columns for House Beautiful and This Old House magazines, respectively. In November 2000, Warner Books published Hidden Treasures: Searching for Masterpieces of American Furniture, a book both Keno brothers wrote with Joan Barzilay Freund. Leigh has co-authored two groundbreaking articles on Boston’s Georgian chairs for the 1996 and 1998 editions of the journal American Furniture, published by the Chipstone Foundation. Leigh is a friend of the American Wing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a friend of Historic Deerfield, and a member of the National Antique and Art Dealers Association of America and the Antiques Dealers Association of America.

Leslie Leno stands with the President and Mrs. Bush after receiving his award.

Leslie Keno is senior vice president, senior specialist, anddirector of American furniture and decorative arts at Sotheby’s.Born in upstate New York, Leslie graduated from Williams Collegewith honors in American art. While at Williams, he carried out anintensive study of early American furniture from the Charles M.Davenport collection, which culminated in a catalog and exhibitionof the collection at the Williams College Museum of Art.

During his tenure of nearly 24 years at Sotheby’s he has been responsible for successfully selling numerous important single-owner sales of American furniture and decorative arts, including the collections of: Mr and Mrs Adolph H. Meyer, Mr and Mrs Stanley Paul Sax, Mr and Mrs Lammot du Pont Copeland, and Mr and Mrs Walter K. Jeffords, and the property of the Goddard Family, to name but a few. Numerous record-breaking sales of American furniture achieved during Leslie Keno’s tenure have received international attention, increasing the public’s awareness and appreciation of the great beauty and majesty of America’s unique cultural heritage. Leslie has been published in Sotheby’s Encyclopedia of Furniture and the American Ceramic Circle Journal.

Leslie and Leigh believe in the extraordinary benefits of television as a powerful teaching tool to inspire young people and get them excited about material culture and history. They appear regularly as appraisers on the hit PBS series Antiques Roadshow, and they co-host Find!, which premiered on WGBH in October 2003 to celebrate a world of design, style, antiques and furnishings. Leslie is a member of the board of directors of Sotheby’s North and South America and lectures extensively on antiques. He and Leigh volunteer each year as benefit auctioneers for various charity events across the country.

The National Endowment for the Humanities gratefully acknowledges The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities for its generous support of the 2005 National Humanities Medals. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Humanities Medal is available online at www.humanities.gov.