Pen and Brush records
name: label: Creator
content: Pen and Brush, Inc.
topic: label: Topic
content: Women artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The records were loaned for microfilming in 1965 by Pen and Brush and were returned after microfilming.
creator: label: Creator
content: Pen and Brush, Inc.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Pen and Brush records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Pen and Brush records date from 1894-1964, and include correspondence, catalogs and reports of exhibitions, a guest book, pamphlets describing the history and development of the organization, and a collection of scrapbooks.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Pen and Brush was founded in 1893 in New York, New York, by painters Mary and Janet Lewis. It served as an organization through which aspiring creative women, including professional women writers, painters, sculptors, and craftswomen, could connect and further their involvement in the arts. The club had a section for each of the following groups: Painters and Graphic Arts, Writers, Sculptors, Craftsmen, and Music, published a monthly newsletter, and held ongoing exhibitions. Writer Lillian Hamilton French was elected the club's first president, although health reasons prevented her from active service. A governing board managed the president's duties until 1899 when author and lecturer, Grace Thomas Seton, became the club's first active president.  

Seton served for approximately 14 years and oversaw the club's incorporation in 1912 and the establishment of it's constitution and by-laws. Today, Pen and Brush operates as a publicly supported not-for-profit with the stated goal of "fighting for gender equity in the arts and providing a platform to showcase the work of women, non-binary and female-identified transgender artists and writers to a broader audience."
function: label: Function
content: Arts organizations -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Function
content: Clubs -- New York (State) -- New York
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4 Microfilm reels
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1894-1964
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.penand
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Microfilm reels
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was microfilmed on Reels NPBC1-NPBC4 and returned to Pen and Brush after filming. The microfilm was described in a finding aid by Stephanie Ashley in 2023 and the microfilm was digitized in 2023 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The collection has been microfilmed on reels NPBC1-NPBC4. The microfilm has been digitized and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
originalsloc: label: Existence and Location of Originals
content: Originals returned to the Pen and Brush after microfilming.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Pen and Brush records date from 1894-1964, and include correspondence, catalogs and reports of exhibitions, a guest book, pamphlets describing the history and development of the organization, and a collection of scrapbooks.