Donations

On May 12, 2024, Naomi Brotherton, the last founding member of SWS passed away. A beloved pillar of our society who encouraged so many of us through her mentoring, she continued to teach and paint well into her nineties. On April 8, 2024, SWS celebrated Naomi’s 104th birthday.  This fund is 100% dedicated to funding the annual Naomi Brotherton Best of Show Memorial Award.

The Edgar Whitney Memorial Fund is 100% dedicated to the award given annually at our member exhibition. This highly sought award honors one of our founders.Edgar A, Whitney spent twenty-five years in commercial art, including five years as art director at McCann-Erickson, before devoting himself full time to painting and teaching. He taught figure, portrait, and pictorial composition at Pratt Institute, lectured at New York University, and was a guest lecturer at the Columbia Graduates Club. Mr. Whitney spent the rest of his life demonstrating and teaching for art organizations throughout the United States and was a formidable influence on the early development of American watercolor and Southwestern Watercolor Society, even creating a trust fund for the growth and success of SWS’ Annual Members’ Exhibitions. Because Edgar Whitney loved transparent watercolors, his named award is limited to paintings that include only transparent watercolor paint.

2026 Lou Bono Memorial Award Thus fund is 100% dedicated to fund the annual Lou Bono Memorial Award at SWS' annual member exhibition.Lou Bono served as President of SWS from 2018 - 2020. Lou had a tragic accident in 2020 as the outgoing president of our organization. Lou may be best remembered by his love of life, his seemingly tireless yet strategic energy, his well-honed organizational skills, and his huge smile and hug. Lou’s family, friends and members of this society founded an annual award in Lou’s name that we hope to maintain for many years.