110th Anniversary Celebration Speaker
Steve Wyman on Bertha Noyes and the 1916 Founding of The Arts Club of Washington
Unveiling of Founder Bertha Noyes' Self-Portrait to Follow Lecture
Tuesday, April 14, 2026 6:30 PM
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Program and Reception
$30 Members - $40 Non-Members
The Arts Club invites you to attend an illustrated lecture to celebrate the 110th anniversary of The Arts Club of Washington and the pivotal role played by painter and Club founder Bertha Noyes. The talk, given by Member and Historian Steve Wyman, is one of a series sponsored by the History Committee that highlights the history of the organization and our historic Clubhouse, the former home of President James Monroe. After the talk, Bertha’s self-portrait, on loan from The George Washington University and hanging in the Monroe House, will be unveiled.
The lecture will outline the events that led to the establishment of The Arts Club on April 7. 1916, as well as the artistic career of Bertha Noyes. Bertha grew up in Washington, DC and studied chemistry at The George Washington University and painting at the Art Students League, the Corcoran School of Art, and the Cape Cod School of Art in Provincetown. Over the course of her career, she regularly exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art as a member of the Society of Washington Artists and the Washington Water Color Club, and she also exhibited in Philadelphia, New York, Providence and Newport, as well as the Arts Club of Washington. At the peak of her career and six years after she spearheaded the founding of the Arts Club, Bertha was celebrated as one of about a dozen "Successful Washington Girl-Bachelor Artists.” Bertha was also a member of the Providence Art Club, the Newport Art Association, the Provincetown Art Association, and the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, and she later was a member of the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s Women’s Committee. Bertha remained a member of the Arts Club of Washington until her death in 1966. Upon her death, she gifted her home and studio, known as the Lenthall House, to The George Washington University. The Federalist-era house is part of the university's Foggy Bottom campus.
Steve Wyman is a historian who researches lost, obscured or hidden histories of some of Washington, DC's most venerable institutions and the remarkable people who established them. A Maine native, Steve has worked for furniture maker Thos. Moser for 28 years and has a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University. After graduation, Steve worked for the Washington Post as an editorial assistant and staff writer before returning to Maine to work as a newspaper reporter and he eventually fell in love with furniture design and art curation.
6:30 p.m. - Doors open
7:00 p.m. - 110th Anniversary Speaker Steve Wyman
7:45 p.m. - Unveiling of Bertha Noyes' Self-Portrait
8:00 p.m. - Reception with Mr. Wyman
Complimentary parking after 5:30 PM at the 2001 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. Colonial parking garage
