Welcome

The Women’s Committee Mission Statement

The Women’s Committee supports and promotes the Walters Art Museum and its mission.  Its purpose is to create goodwill for the museum by introducing the museum to a wider audience and by supporting programs, activities and projects that enhance the museum experience. In continuing the tradition of its founding in 1963, the committee seeks a strong commitment from all its members as well as continued support for its Education Fund, the Flower Fund and select museum exhibitions and lectures.

Our Contributions to the Walters Art Museum

The Women’s Committee of the Walters Art Museum has successfully raised over $1,200,000 since 1990. As our committee and events have grown, we have become a major benefactor for the museum. The revenues from Art Blooms at the Walters and the Jewelry Fair at the Walters have provided funding for the following:
Established

• The Margaret Singley Flower Fund
• The Education Endowment Fund

Sponsored Exhibitions

• Heroes: Mortals & Myths in Ancient Greece
• The Saint John’s Bible: A Modern Vision Through Medieval Methods
• Bedazzled: 5000 Years of Jewelry
• Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt
• Courbet and the Modern Landscape
• Sacred Arts and City Life: The Glory of Medieval Novgorod
• The Road to Impressionism: Landscapes from Corot to Monet
• Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from The British Museum
• Barbara Chase-Riboud: The Monument Drawings
• Manet: The Still-Life Paintings
• Gold of the Nomads: Scythian Treasures from Ancient Ukraine
• Land of the Winged Horsemen: Art in Poland, 1572–1764
• Masters of Light: Dutch Painters in Utrecht during the Golden Age
• The First Emperor: Treasures from Ancient China
• Russian Enamels, Kieven Rus to Fabergé
• Ottocento: Romanticism and Revolution in 19th-Century Italian Painting

Contributed to:

• Renovation of the Palazzo & Creation of Sculpture Court Fountain
• Renovation of the Centre Street Building
• Renovation of the Parlor 5 West Mount Vernon Place
• The Family Art Center and family programs
• Technology Initiative
• Brown Challenge
• Renee May Fund
• Docent Facilitator for school tours
• Martin Luther King Day Celebration

The Margaret Singley Flower Fund

The Women’s Committee Founders’ Fund for Flowers was created as an endowment fund that enables the Women’s Committee to provide fresh flowers in the Museum on a weekly basis from income generated by the endowment.

Traveling Slide Show

The Women’s Committee of the Walters has prepared a Powerpoint presentation of our Art Blooms event. If your organization or garden club is interested in scheduling a presentation, please contact us at travelingslideshow@wamwc.org

A Brief History Of The Committee

The Women’s Committee was established by the Board of Trustees in 1963. Two major challenges faced the Board of Trustees: a controversial bond issue to finance the 1974 wing and the restoration of the Walters house, which had been badly damaged by fire.

The renovation of The Parlor in the Walters house was the first project of the twelve original members. To fund this project, The Women’s Committee established a three-day cooking school with famous cooks as instructors. The cooking schools flourished for fifteen years. An outgrowth of the cooking school was the publication of Private Collections, the first museum cookbook,” which gained national acclaim and is now in its sixth and final printing.

Subsequently, the Jewelry Fair, the Egyptian Bazaar, the Book Fair, lectures and luncheons, the Discovery Tours, and Art Blooms have enabled the committee to contribute both funds and support in promoting the interests of the Walters Art Museum. Along with contributing to the general operating costs, the committee has funded special exhibitions, contributed to the Education Endowment Fund, restored The Parlor in the Walters house to its original state, installed a new staff kitchen, and has given generously to the Flower Fund.

Additionally, the committee has assisted with membership drives, established, with the staff, the volunteer guide program, and was responsible for the renovation and rejuvenation of the Museum Store.