BWS Highlights Newsletter • Summer 2025

From the Archives: The Earliest Records

Jim Sandford, Mid-Atlantic Exhibition Chair

We turn our attention to the earliest records of the founding of the Baltimore Water Color Club (BWCC, the predecessor to today’s BWS).

We begin with the catalog of the 1985 BWS Centennial Exhibition, the introduction of which gives the long-established essential history of BWS/BWCC. 

So what are the original sources that support this account? We can start with searches of the newspaper archives. The first mention of BWCC that I can find in the newspapers is the announcement of the BWCC’s 1892 First Annual Exhibition.

(We note that the 1892 First Annual Exhibition is well-established, therefore contradicts the 1897 statement in the Centennial catalog.)

The newspaper archives seem to miss 1893, then pick up again with the Third Annual Exhibition in 1894.

With the Third Annual Exhibition comes the first substantive newspaper account of the early years of BWCC that I can find, published in the Baltimore Sun on November 27, 1894.

There are obvious problems with this article. It reads as more of a Society Page article (which it was) than an art review. Little care is taken to identify major artworks by name. The author seems primarily concerned with naming all the participants, a key feature of Society Page accounts that continued through much of the 20th century.

Conspicuously, the article states that BWCC originated in 1892, not 1885, much more on this to come.

If we compare the list of 11 members cited in 1894 with the original list of eight women meeting in 1885, only 3 of the 8 are listed. Missing from the 1885 list in the 1894 article are Lulu Nelson Ford, B.E. Owens, Christiana Bond, Gabrielle Clements, Elizabeth Smith. Of course, women would come and go from the club as they pursued their own lives and artistic careers.

To pour a little more fuel on the fire, an early source of information on art activities and societies in the United States is the American Art Annual, which published encyclopedic lists from 1898 to the middle of the 20th century. Its first listing for BWCC appeared in its inaugural 1898 edition, show below (complete with notations of presumed errors made by current BWS authorities).

So we have another source claiming that BWCC began in 1892. What gives?

The details of the first meeting in 1885 are compelling and too precise to be dismissed. Rest assured, we’re not giving up on the 1885 account.

We are going to have to dig deeper to sort this out. For now, I offer a working theory…

The 1892 First Annual Exhibition was the first significant pubic appearance of the BWCC. Although the club may have been around in some form since 1885, it is probably too much to expect from the 1894 Sun and the 1898 American Art Annual to make this distinction.

In its early years, BWCC was more concerned with painting and putting on exhibitions than with the telling of its history from 1885. At some point later on they became more interested in setting the historical record straight. Through the mid-20th Century there were women living who had participated in or knew of the 1885 meeting and the early years of the club. BWCC then realized that those first informal years from 1885 to 1892 were important, so they made sure they were documented in the 1885 account that we know of today.

Can we provide evidence for this theory? More to come in the installments to follow.

Be a part of this ongoing history! Today’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Watercolor Exhibition has direct historical lineage back to BWCC’s 1892 First Annual Exhibition. To submit your application go to artist.callforentry.org, to log in. Be sure to put the one or two paintings you wish to submit in your portfolio first, then begin the Mid-Atlantic application process. The application can be found by selecting “Apply to Calls” and searching on “2025 Mid-Atlantic.” The application period remains open through August 6. Visit the Mid-Atlantic Exhibition web page for additional details. Questions are welcome at midatlanticexhibit@baltimorewatercolorsociety.org.

Mid-Atlantic Awards Committee - Asking for Donations

The 2025 Mid-Atlantic Regional Exhibition volunteer team is gearing up for another great show. One of the things that makes the Exhibition so special is the number of quality awards. Last year, 26 of the 100 artists accepted into the show received awards, with a top award of $1,500.

Each year, the BWS Awards Committee reaches out to corporations to solicit sponsorships, to watercolor societies that offer reciprocal awards such as the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, and to you, our members.

Members are crucial to the success of our Exhibition, not only through the quality work they enter and display, but also through their financial support. After all, our exhibition is about artists supporting artists’ creative growth.

Many members choose to honor or remember a loved one. All donations in support of the exhibition are fully tax deductible. If you are thinking of donating or giving a specific award in memory of a loved one and are wondering how to go about it, or if you have any other questions, please get in touch with the BWS Awards Committee - Janet Freeman, Betty Myers, and Rebecca Rothey at awards@baltimorewatercolorsociety.org. We are always happy to help.

BWS Seeks Student Members!

Do you know of a young art student who could benefit from joining the BWS?

If they are between the ages of 16 and 25 and are interested in art or are pursuing an art degree or certificate, they are eligible to join BWS for the discounted membership fee of only $20.

Support BWS Sponsors

Receive American Frame Discounts Through Our Artist Alliance Program

American Frame is a second-generation, woman-owned, family-run company, dedicated to serving artists like yourself since 1973. Our mission is to provide excellence in custom framing products, fine art printing and related services while advancing a socially responsible company that gives back to the arts. As such, we are proud to be counted among the list of donors to the BWS Mid-Atlantic Regional Exhibition. If you need design assistance or have questions about the website, we are here to help. We offer free samples, phone support as well as face-to-face ‘zoom style’ consultations via our Virtual Showroom. Our goal is to serve you in the way that makes you most comfortable.

Apply your American Frame account to the Baltimore Watercolor Society through this link: https://www.baltimorewatercolorsociety.org/Member-Discount-Codes/12652400 (you must be logged in to BWS Wild Apricot to see the link). Click on the link and sign-up or login to the American Frame Alliance Program and you will receive a reusable discount code as well as earn credit for your purchases for BWS. Be sure to check ‘Agree to Terms and Conditions.’ Once your American Frame account is linked to the Alliance Program, all of your orders will benefit BWS, even if you choose another discount to use for that order (e.g., free shipping).

Membership

Welcome New Associate Members

Amanda Baker, Westminster, MD
Albert Morgan, Reisterstown, MD
Jeanine Murphy-Morris, Ellicott City, MD
Pamela Watson, Timonium, MD

In Memoriam

Richard Rector, Bandera, TX

Other Art Organizations’ Events and Opportunities