The Plastic Club
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Responding to their exclusion from all-male art clubs, professional women artists formed the Plastic Club in 1897 and began holding exhibitions here in 1909. Notable members included Emily Sartain, Violet Oakley, Jessie Willcox Smith, and Elizabeth Shippen Green.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Shut out of the all-male art clubs of the late nineteenth century, a group of professional women artists founded the Plastic Club in Philadelphia in 1897 and began mounting their own exhibitions here in 1909. Its members included some of the era's most accomplished illustrators and painters, among them Emily Sartain, Violet Oakley, Jessie Willcox Smith, and Elizabeth Shippen Green. The club gave women a professional home and a public stage in a field that had long excluded them.
Why it matters
The Plastic Club shows how American women built their own institutions to claim recognition denied them elsewhere, advancing both the arts and the cause of women's professional equality.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Bridgette Mayer0.4 mi away · 709 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- African American Museum in Philadelphia0.5 mi away · 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Congress Hall0.5 mi away · Philadelphia, PA
- Liberty Bell Center0.5 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia
- Independence Hall0.5 mi away · 520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Visitor Center0.5 mi away · 599 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
Attractions
- Reading Terminal0.2 mi away
- Chinatown Friendship Gate0.3 mi away · 10th and Arch Street
- One Liberty Observation Deck0.5 mi away
- Liberty Bell0.5 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- President's House0.5 mi away
- Second Bank of the United States0.6 mi away · 420 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Food & drink
- Philly Pretzel Factory0.3 mi away
- Munchie’s Cafe0.3 mi away · 728 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Burger King0.3 mi away
- El Azteca0.4 mi away
- Fat Salmon0.4 mi away · 719 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Maya's Pizza & Grill0.4 mi away · 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- Canopy by Hilton Philadelphia Center Citynearby · 1180 Ludlow Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Loews Philadelphia Hotelnearby · 1200 Market Street, Philadelphia
- ROOST East Market0.1 mi away
- Holiday Inn Express0.1 mi away · 1305-11 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Philadelphia Marriott Downtown0.2 mi away · 1201 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Residence Inn Philadelphia Center City0.2 mi away · 1 East Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA
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Related people
- · Emily Sartain
- · Violet Oakley
- · Jessie Willcox Smith
- · Elizabeth Shippen Green
Themes & tags
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