Ruskin wrote to Sophia Sinnett in 1858 "You must resolve to be quite a great paintress; the feminine termination does not exist, there never having been such a being as yet as a lady who could paint.

Their education in the arts was limited and they had been excluded from the practice of drawing from the nude figure since the Royal Academy was founded.

However, Ruskin later revised his opinion of women artists after seeing Elizabeth Thompson's The Roll Call at the Royal Academy in 1874.

Nevertheless, British women artists proved themselves capable of working both individually and in collaboration and consequently, gained greater credibility.

[7] Contemporary press reports also place Mrs David Laing (nee Mary Elizabeth West) among the founders.

[9] The society's first exhibition, held at 315 Oxford Street, London between 1 June and 18 July 1857, became the focus of debate with regard to the role of women in art.

Dame Laura Knight, the first woman Royal Academician, was elected president in 1932 and retained that office until she retired in 1968 to become a Patron.

Current members include Daphne Todd, the first female president of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters from 1994 to 2000 and winner of the BP Portrait Award 2010, portraitist June Mendoza, and Philomena Davidson, first woman president of the Royal British Society of Sculptors.

These are considered by a selection committee, and if judged exceptional, the artist is elected to become an associate member (ASWA), subject to space within the society.

The exhibition offers awards to selected artists, many of which are supplied by the Society's sponsors,[35] and aims to highlight the wide range and diversity of fine art created by women.

Exhibition venues since the inception of the SFA have always been in London – listed below: The SWA has a history of collaborating with charities to help with the under-privileged and vulnerable.

Each year a special reception is held during the annual exhibition, here members donate works that are auctioned and the proceeds from the sales are presented to the charity.