The National Association of Women Artists was founded in 1889 by five innovative women artists. In an era when women artists were associated primarily with crafts and decorative arts, the founders of NAWA envisioned an organization which would promote higher standards for women artists and provide them with the opportunity to exhibit their work.

Early annual exhibitions included works by notable artists such as Rosa Bonheur, Mary Cassatt, and Susan Valadon. Later membership rosters include Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Anna Hyatt Huntington, Louise Nevelson, Alice Neel, Judy Chicago, Nell Blaine, Janet Fish, Miriam Shapiro, Marisol, Audrey Flack, and Claire Romano. It is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization.

NAWA members represent all areas of the visual arts including painting, sculpture, encaustic, photography, printmaking, video art, installations, and mixed media. The organization is inclusive and serves professional women visual artists of all backgrounds and traditions that are at least 18 years of age and U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Currently, more than 800 women artists from across the United States are members of the organization.