Photo: Iris, Tulips, Jonquils, and Crocuses 1986.323 Alma Woodsey Thomas, Iris, Tulips, Jonquils, and Crocuses, 1969; Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 50 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; © Estate of Alma Woodsey Thomas; Photo by Lee Stalsworth. Photographer: Lee Stalsworth
WHAT IS NYC-NMWA?
The New York Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NYC-NMWA) is a non-profit volunteer organization established to support the mission of NMWA by: raising awareness and promoting the contribution of women artists in the New York area, building partnerships with arts organizations, and providing resources to programs which promote women’s artistic accomplishments.
WHAT IS NMWA?
Located in Washington, DC, the National Museum of Women in the Arts is the first museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts.
MISSION
The National Museum of Women in the Arts brings recognition to the achievements of women artists of all periods and nationalities by exhibiting, preserving, acquiring, and researching art by women and by teaching the public about their accomplishments.
HISTORY
The National Museum of Women in the Arts was incorporated in November 1981 as a private, nonprofit museum. During its first five years, NMWA operated from the Holladay residence, which hosted a temporary office and docent-led tours of the collection. In 1983, the museum purchased its building at 1250 New York Avenue, NW—a 78,810-square-foot Washington landmark near the White House that was constructed in 1908 as a Masonic Temple. It was refurbished in accordance with the highest design, museum, and security standards, and won numerous architectural awards.
In April 1987, NMWA opened the doors of our permanent location with the inaugural exhibition American Women Artists, 1830–1930, a survey curated by one of the country’s foremost feminist art historians, Dr. Eleanor Tufts.