Artist awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 crossword clue
40 Across · WSJ Crossword, May 27, 2026 · 11 letters
Explanation
The answer to “Artist awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011” is JASPERJOHNS. It appears as 40 Across in the Wall Street Journal crossword of May 27, 2026, a Wednesday puzzle titled “Hardheaded” by Marc Goldstein, and it fills 11 squares running left to right from row 9, column 5 of the 15×15 grid.
The clue is a straightforward definition, so the answer is a direct synonym or a factual match for the words as written. The entry begins with J and ends with S, and contains 3 vowels and 8 consonants. If you are working from the crossings, two or three confirmed letters from the Down entries should be enough to lock it in. Wednesday puzzles sit mid-week on the difficulty curve, so expect the rest of this grid to be pitched at the same level.
Past appearances
JASPERJOHNS has not appeared as an answer in any other WSJ puzzle in our index, which runs from May 2026 onward. It will be listed here the next time it turns up.