This annual exhibition was begun in 1889, by the National Association of Women Artists-a United States organization, created to gain recognition for professional women fine artists in an era when that field was strongly male-oriented. 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. From the onset, these annual exhibitions were a great success, attracting the participation of women artists such as Mary Cassatt, Suzanne Valadon, Rosa Bonheur and Cecelia Beaux. As the organization grew, its membership included prominent artists like Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney and Anna Hyatt Huntington.

The exhibition is only open to NAWA signature members—artists who have submitted their work to a panel and have been elected into the organization. Over the years artists such as Louise Nevelson, Malvina Hoffman, Cleo Hartwig, Minna Citron, Nell Blaine, Dorothy Dehner, Alice Neel, Marisol, Pat Adams, Judy Chicago, Miriam Schapiro, Janet Fish and Audrey Flack, and other contemporary talented artists have joined the organization