The Women Painters of Washington is a non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 based in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Washington. The group was formed on October 6, 1930 by six female artists who met while attending a portrait class sponsored by the Art Institute of Seattle, which was a predecessor to the Seattle Art Museum

Seattle Art Museum

The Seattle Art Museum is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It maintains three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the central Seattle waterfront, which opened on...

. The women joined together in order to overcome the limitations they faced as female artists and to stimulate their artistic growth through fellowship. Founding members were Elizabeth Warhanik, Dorothy Dolph Jensen, Lily Norling Hardwick, Myra Albert Wiggins

Myra Albert Wiggins

Myra Albert Wiggins was an American painter and pictorial photographer who became a member of the important early 20th century Photo-Secession movement.-Early years :...

, Anna B. Stone and Helen Bebb.

Other notable members of the group include Yvonne Twining Humber and Doris Totten Chase

Doris Totten Chase

Doris Totten Chase was a painter, teacher, and sculptor, but is best remembered for pioneering in the production of key works in the history of video art. She was a member of the Northwest School .-Sensual Light:...

.

The group continues to meet at the Seattle Art Museum.