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Pen and Brush was founded in 1893 in New York, New York, by painters Mary and Janet Lewis. It served as an organization through which aspiring creative women, including professional women writers, painters, sculptors, and craftswomen, could connect and further their involvement in the arts. The club had a section for each of the following groups: Painters and Graphic Arts, Writers, Sculptors, Craftsmen, and Music, published a monthly newsletter, and held ongoing exhibitions. Writer Lillian Hamilton French was elected the club's first president, although health reasons prevented her from active service. A governing board managed the president's duties until 1899 when author and lecturer, Grace Thomas Seton, became the club's first active president.
Seton served for approximately 14 years and oversaw the club's incorporation in 1912 and the establishment of it's constitution and by-laws. Today, Pen and Brush operates as a publicly supported not-for-profit with the stated goal of "fighting for gender equity in the arts and providing a platform to showcase the work of women, non-binary and female-identified transgender artists and writers to a broader audience."
