The Boston Watercolor Club (sometimes written Boston Water Color Club) was a society formed in 1887 to promote women

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

artists in and around Boston, Massachusetts.

History

The Boston Watercolor Club was formed in 1887 to promote and exhibit the work of women artists at a time when they were barred from admission to the male-run

Boston Watercolor Society The New England Watercolor Society, originally named the Boston Watercolor Society, is an artist-run organization formed to promote and exhibit work by watercolor painters. It was also at one time known as the Boston Society of Watercolor Painters. ...

. The group held annual exhibitions. In 1896 the group began admitting male members, and artists such as

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 made stained glass ...

and

Maurice Prendergast Maurice Brazil Prendergast (October 10, 1858 – February 1, 1924) was an American artist who painted in oil and watercolor, and created monotypes. His delicate landscapes and scenes of modern life, characterized by mosaic-like color, are ...

joined the club. The group had counterparts in other cities, including the Baltimore Watercolor Club, founded in 1885 because women artists were barred from the

Charcoal Club of Baltimore The Charcoal Club has been an arts club in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, on an intermittent basis since 1883. History Started as the Sketch Club in 1883 by a group of male artists in Baltimore who "desired to draw and paint from life" (meani ...

. The club's records from the period 1887–1916 are held by the

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 Washing ...

at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Notable women members

* Susan H. Bradley (1885-1943) * Gabrielle D. Clements (1858-1948) *

Lilian Westcott Hale Lilian Westcott Hale (December 7, 1880 – November 3, 1963) was an American Impressionism, American Impressionist painter Biography According to the 1880 original Bridgeport archival records at the Connecticut State Library, the 1900 Fede ...

(1880-1963) *

Laura Coombs Hills Laura Coombs Hills (1859–1952) was an American artist and illustrator who specialized in watercolor and pastel still life paintings, especially of flowers, and miniature portrait paintings on ivory. She became the first miniature painter elected ...

(1859-1952) *

May Hallowell Loud Maria "May" Mott Hallowell Loud (August 22, 1860 – February 1, 1916) was an American artist, suffragist, and member of the Hallowell family. Family and personal life Maria Mott Hallowell, known as "May", was born in 1860 in Medford, Massachu ...

(1860-1916) *

Sarah Choate Sears Sarah Choate Sears (1858–1935) was an American art collector, art patron, cultural entrepreneur, artist and photographer. Early life Sears, née Sarah Carlisle Choate, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on 5 May 1858, the daughter of Char ...

(1858-1935) *

Sarah Wyman Whitman Sarah de St. Prix Wyman Whitman (1842–1904) was an American stained glass artist, painter, and book cover designer. Successful at a time when few women had professional art careers, she founded her own firm, Lily Glass Works. Her stained glass ...

(1842-1904)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boston Watercolor Club Watercolor societies American artist groups and collectives Arts organizations based in Massachusetts Arts organizations established in 1887 Clubs and societies in Boston Women in Boston