The American Watercolor Society, founded in 1866, is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to the advancement of

watercolor painting Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Qualifications

AWS judges the work of a painter before granting admission to the society as an "active" (now "signature") member. Such membership in the society now is considered an indication of the painter having established a consistent style and to have demonstrated considerable skill in the medium. ''Transparency'' in the works of water color painters is highly valued. That is a technique wherein the paper surface is allowed to show through the applied paint as an integral aspect of the painting. The applicant usually must demonstrate a history of winning prizes in juried art shows with professional standing to gain admission. This type of membership in the society, generally, is signalled by "AWS" following the painter's name in promotional materials and biographies. Membership by others is indicated as an "associate" status.

History

The society was founded in 1866 by eleven painters and was originally known as the American Society of Painters in Water Colors. Initially, it was difficult to draw in new members, partially because some artists of the time opposed the society's policy of allowing women to join. The New York Watercolor Club merged into the society in 1941.

New York Watercolor Club

The New York Water Color Club (NYWC) was founded in 1890, accepting both men and women artists as members and officers, and held its first exhibition that year.

Childe Hassam Frederick Childe Hassam (; October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was an American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressioni ...

was the organization's first president. NYWC was organized in response to refusal by the American Watercolor Society (AWS) to accept women members and to organize an annual exhibition in the fall. In comparison to AWS, it held jury-selected exhibitions which meant stricter standards for the content included in its shows. The club had male and female members and officers, whereas the American Watercolor Society did not accept women as members of their organization until 1897. Its headquarters and site of its annual exhibition was in the American Fine Arts Building at 215 West 57th Street. The club was represented in the Fine Arts Federation of New York and with other art and architectural organizations on the board of the National Academy Association. In 1918, the club had 175 members and exhibited 581 works by 301 artists in its annual exhibition. Of the 581 works of art, 501 of were watercolors. The club combined exhibition venues with the American Water Color Society between 1922 and 1931. The two organizations merged, having created a new constitution, and was named the American Watercolor Society in January 1941. The effort was led by Roy Henry Brown, president of the American Watercolor Society. Its records are archived at the

Smithsonian Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washingt ...

. Catherine Tharp Altvater (1907–1984) was the first woman to hold office in the society. In 2008 Jim McFarlane took over presidency from Janet Walsh.

Members

Influential members within the organization were: *

William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...

Lydia Field Emmet Lydia Field Emmet (January 23, 1866 – August 16, 1952) was an American artist best known for her work as a portraitist. She studied with, among others, prominent artists such as William Merritt Chase, Harry Siddons Mowbray, Kenyon Cox and Tony ...

* William C. Fitler, husband of

Claude Raguet Hirst Claude Raguet Hirst (born Claudine, 1855–1942) was an American painter of still lifes. She was the only woman of her era to gain acclaim using the '' trompe-l'œil'' ("fool the eye") technique. Early life and education Claudine was born in C ...

, charter member *

John La Farge John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics. La Farge is best known for ...

* Rhoda Holmes Nicholls - served as vice president, member of jury selection, and served on all its committees * Emily Maria Scott (1832–1915), artist * Alex F. Yaworski (1907-1997), artist

Notes

References

External links

American Watercolor Society Website

Gildedage.omeka.net: "Documenting the Gilded Age: New York City Exhibitions at the Turn of the 20th Century"
with Exhibition catalogs of the American Watercolor Society, a

New York Art Resources Consortium The New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC) consists of the research libraries of three leading art museums in New York City: The Brooklyn Museum, The Frick Collection, and The Museum of Modern Art. With funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundatio ...

project. Watercolor societies American artist groups and collectives Arts organizations based in New York City Arts organizations established in 1866 1866 establishments in New York (state) {{US-arts-org-stub