LOS ANGELES, CA.- The J. Paul Getty Trust announced it will present the annual J. Paul Getty Medal to artist Anselm Kiefer and writer Mario Vargas Llosa at a dinner in New York City on November 13, 2017.

Since it was established in 2013 by the trustees of the J. Paul Getty Trust, the medal has been awarded to six individuals to honor their extraordinary contributions to the practice, understanding and support of the arts.

“We shall honor two of the world’s great artists. Anselm Kiefer and Mario Vargas Llosa are both engaged in big ideas and historic moments, and they share with the Getty a passionate commitment to global culture,” said Maria Hummer-Tuttle, chair, J. Paul Getty Board of Trustees.

Mario Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian writer, politician, journalist, college professor and recipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature. His books have been translated into more than 40 languages. “Mario Vargas Llosa shares with the Getty an unshakeable commitment to the moral and intellectual value of the arts,” said James Cuno, president of the J. Paul Getty Trust. “He is the epitome of an engaged, public intellectual, who believes that writers should write with the conviction that by writing, they can help others become more free, sensitive and lucid.”

Anselm Kiefer is a German painter and sculptor noted for powerful work and complex subject matter. His art deals with controversial issues from recent history, including the devastating power of war, the cycle of destruction and renewal, the place of women in history, and the relation of micro- and macrocosm. His works are included in numerous public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Tate Modern, London; and The Broad Museum in Los Angeles. “His work is epic in its ambition and references the travails of history,” said Cuno. “He tells a rich and confounding narrative, full of deep and life-enriching pathos.”

Past recipients of the J. Paul Getty Medal have included Harold Williams and Nancy Englander, who were honored for their leadership in creating today’s Getty; Lord Jacob Rothschild, for his leadership in the preservation of built cultural heritage; Frank Gehry, for transforming the built landscape with buildings such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall; Yo-Yo Ma, for his efforts to further understanding of the world’s diverse cultures; and Ellsworth Kelly, for paintings and sculptures of the highest quality and originality.