Pei Garners Medal

I.M. Pei, a 1946 graduate of the Harvard School of Design, will receive the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal for his contributions to the city of New York in the field of architecture.

The award will be presented by the Municipal Art Society of New York at its annual benefit dinner on February 27. It is the organization's highest honor.

Renowned for his simple sculptural forms and devotion to rigorous geometry, Pei is responsible for Le Grand Louvre in Paris and the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston.

Pei was born in China and immigrated to the United States at the age of 17. The architect received his master's degree from Harvard and served as an assistant professor at the School of Design from 1945-1948 before founding the New York City architectural firm of Pei, Cobb, Freed and Partners. Harvard granted him an honorary degree at commencement ceremonies in 1995.

The medal he will receive was designed in 1892 by sculptor Daniel Chester French, who also designed the John Harvard Statue in the Yard.