History

Founded as the Washington Water Color Club on March 28, 1896, the Washington Water Color Association is one of the oldest societies of professional artists still active today. As is true of many enduring organizations, our Association has undergone many changes over the years, some positive, others not. We’ve made a commitment and taken steps to reassess, refresh and energize this historic body, updating our Bylaws to be more welcoming and inclusive. 

The idea for this association of artists originated with Washington watercolorist and teacher Marietta W. Andrews. Fifteen professional artists attended the initial meeting of the group and had their first exhibition on December 1896 at the Cosmos Club of Washington. 

Between 1897 and 1899, the Water Color Club exhibited at the Connecticut Avenue Gallery. The 1900 exhibition was held in the Hemicycle Room at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. In the years between 1921 and 1930, the WWCA held exhibits at the U.S. National Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Howard University and the Arts Club of Washington. 

In 1921, the name was changed to the Washington Water Color Association and became a non-profit, educational organization. By 1936, artists from twenty-one states and the District of Columbia were displaying their works at association exhibitions. 

Among the well-known artists who exhibited their works over the years were William Henry Holmes, Thomas Anshutz, William Merritt Chase, Joseph Pennell and American Impressionists Frank Benson and Childe Hassam. 

In later years, Elliott O’Hara, Andrew Wyeth, Don Kingman, Henry Gasser and Alice Pike Barney joined the esteemed list of painters exhibiting in annual WWCA shows. Alma Thomas, Delilah Pierce, Lois Mailou Jones and James Wells were among African American artists who exhibited regularly. 

Internationally-recognized artist Lily Spandorf was a member of WWCA until her death. Vienna-born and educated, Lily made London her base of operations for several years, dividing her time between Britain and Italy, painting and exhibiting in both countries. She came to the United States at the end of 1959 and had a solo show in New York City. In 1960 she arrived in Washington, where she has had many solo exhibits. 

Another WWCA member, Japanese artist Un’ichi Hiratsuka was one of the founding fathers of the Creative Prints movement (Sosaku Hanga) and one of the big names of twentieth century Japanese art. Hiratsuka is best known for prints in black and white. Hiratsuka Un’ichi’s woodblock prints can be found in major collections throughout the world.

At the time the Washington Water Color Association was founded in 1896, “Water Color” appeared as two separate words. When the rejuvenation of today’s Washington Water Color Association began in February, 2018, the Board of Directors voted to preserve the historic nature of the association by keeping the name as originally created. At the same time, the Board voted to create a new, updated logo for the WWCA, which would better reflect an active, vibrant community of artists. Our new logo identity was approved and unveiled to members on January 25, 2019. 

In Memory