Beth and a Brush
Pen and Brush is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit gallery founded in 1894 in Manhattan that exhibits and sells work exclusively by women and non-binary artists, advancing gender equity in the arts through exhibitions, a biennial, curatorial programming, and partnerships with museums and art fairs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1894
- HeadquartersWest New York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Beth and a Brush does
Pen and Brush is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art gallery founded in 1894 and headquartered in Manhattan, New York. The organization's stated mission is to advance gender equity in the arts by exhibiting and selling work exclusively by women and non-binary artists across painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, and digital media. Beyond exhibitions, it runs a Curatorial Squad program for emerging curators, a poetry programming track in partnership with The Poetry Society of New York, and a periodic biennial that, in 2026, is reportedly programmed with approximately 400 artists.
The business model operates through multiple revenue streams rather than a single product line: commission-based art sales (a stated 25% on transactions), tax-deductible donations and corporate sponsorships (BMW Group has been a presenting sponsor since 2018), membership and event ticketing around the biennial and poetry festival, and grant funding enabled by 501(c)(3) status. Distribution is multi-channel — a physical Manhattan gallery, the Artsy online marketplace, and participation in major art fairs including SCOPE Miami (entered 2023) and the Conductor Art Fair (April 2026). Institutional validation has come through museum acquisitions, including PAMM acquiring work by artist Deborah Jack via SCOPE.
Recent strategic activity indicates an explicit push to extend reach beyond the Manhattan base: the JUST LOVE exhibition by Michela Martello traveled internationally to Milan and Tibet in 2025, a partnership with the Disabled People's Organization of Bhutan supports an artist residency in 2026, and new programming tracks in poetry and photography broaden the artistic product surface. The organization remains small, with 1-10 employees and no disclosed financials, so scale of these expansions in revenue terms is not observable from the available data.
Beth and a Brush firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Beth and a Brush
- Legal name
- Pen and Brush, Inc.
- Website
- https://penandbrush.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1894
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Pen and Brush is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit gallery founded in 1894 in Manhattan that exhibits and sells work exclusively by women and non-binary artists, advancing gender equity in the arts through exhibitions, a biennial, curatorial programming, and partnerships with museums and art fairs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Beth and a Brush industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nonprofit Art Gallery Services
- NAICS
- Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (7115), Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (711410)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Public Art, Arts Councils & Grantmaking Programs (BPAGAHAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Literary Arts & Writing Organizations (BPAGAHAK), Art, Photography & Illustrated Books Publishing (MPAJAAAF), Publishing & Submission Prep Workshops (Query Letters, Agents, Journals) (EDAMAMAI), Visual Arts (Drawing, Painting, Illustration) (EDAAAGAA)
Keywords
Where Beth and a Brush is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- West New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Beth and a Brush business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Art Sales Commission: All artwork exhibited at Pen + Brush is for sale. The revenue split is 75% of all sales going directly to artists and 25% returning to the organization to fund its mission and operations.
- Donations and Sponsorships: Pen + Brush accepts tax-deductible donations as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Sponsorships are available at various levels (referenced on the donations page). Donors receive receipts and acknowledgments.
- Event Tickets and Benefit: Events including opening receptions and the annual benefit are ticketed/RSVP-based through the online store (store.penandbrush.org).
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
Beth and a Brush product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pen + Brush provides exhibition space, literary programming, and professional advocacy for women, non-binary, and female-identified transgender artists and writers. The organization operates a physical gallery in Manhattan and offers exhibitions, publications, events, and an artist-first incubation model with a 75% to artists / 25% to organization revenue split on art sales. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, it supplements earned revenue with tax-deductible donations, sponsorships, and event ticketing.
Product overview
Pen + Brush is an art gallery and non-profit organization that provides exhibition space and programming for women, non-binary, and female-identified transgender artists and writers. The organization operates a physical gallery space in New York City and offers exhibitions, publications, events, and public programming. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1894, it serves as an artist-first incubation model supporting artists through professional advocacy, exhibition opportunities, and connections to collectors and curators.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Visual Arts Exhibitions Program Visual arts exhibition program offering women, non-binary, and female-identified transgender artists the opportunity to exhibit original works across painting, sculpture, photography, video, installation, and mixed media in the Manhattan gallery. Artists submit through Submittable and accepted artists receive gallery placement, curatorial support, and 75% revenue share on sales.
- Literary Arts Program and Publications Literary arts program providing publication opportunities, mentorship, and professional advocacy for women, non-binary, and female-identified transgender writers. Includes exhibition opportunities for literary works and ongoing publications authored by program participants.
- Events Program (Opening Receptions, Artist Talks, Annual Benefit) Ticketed events including opening receptions, closing receptions, artist talks, ARTTALKs series, and the annual benefit event. Events are ticketed/RSVP-based through the online store and serve as community engagement and donor cultivation opportunities.
- Exhibition Publications and Catalog Sales Exhibition catalogs and publications accompanying major exhibitions, featuring essays by curators, critics, and scholars. Available for purchase through the online store and distributed to extend exhibition reach.
- Curatorial Squad Mentorship and Portfolio Review Program Curatorial Squad program that engages museum and independent curators to review artist portfolios and expand pathways to recognition. Provides artists with peer-network access and professional advocacy through curator engagement.
Quantifiable outcome
- 400 artists featured in the Every Woman Biennial 2026 at Pen + Brush
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Beth and a Brush
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Beth and a Brush technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Beth and a Brush partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.
- BMW GroupmajorBMW Group was the presenting sponsor of the '200 Women: Who Will Change the Way You See the World' exhibition at Pen + Brush (May–June 2018). This immersive exhibition celebrated women who share their stories to shine a light on gender equality, featuring photographic portraits and video interviews of 200 women from around the world. BMW's sponsorship provided financial and brand support for the exhibition.
- The Poetry Society of New YorkcoreThe Poetry Society of New York collaborated with Pen + Brush on 'The Now After: What We're Left With' exhibition (April–September 2026) through 'The Typewriter Project,' an interactive installation inviting visitors to contribute to a collective poem on a 100-foot paper scroll using a vintage typewriter with custom USB kit that archives every keystroke. The installation was inspired by the surrealist game Exquisite Corpse and captures the collective voice of the city.
- Disabled People's Organization of Bhutan (DPOB)minorDPOB partnered with Pen + Brush for Christine Mace's 'Through the Lens' exhibition (July 9 – September 12, 2026). Mace conducted a March 2026 residency in Bhutan through DPOB, collaborating with Bhutanese students living with mobility challenges through photography workshops. Three student photographers' works were featured in the exhibition.
- Gallery Mcube (Nepal)minorGallery Mcube partnered with Pen + Brush through Christine Mace's 'Sacred Cities' residency series. Mace's 'Sacred Cities' series began in Nepal with a residency through Gallery Mcube before continuing in Bhutan. The gallery provided the initial platform for this documentary photography project.
- Every Woman BiennialcorePen + Brush hosts the Every Woman Biennial, a salon-style group exhibition curated by Finley, Molly Caldwell, and Erin Ko, featuring 400 artists. The partnership represents a significant curation and exhibition collaboration, extending Pen + Brush's reach in the gender equity in arts space through a large-scale biennial format.
- Bina Sarkar Ellias (Curator)coreBina Sarkar Ellias curated 'Free, Fearless, Fantastical,' Pen + Brush's first exhibition of 2025. The exhibition prominently featured both art and poetry by international artists and writers, evoking liberation as a call to collective morphology of women and gender-marginalized people silenced by patriarchal norms.
- 21c Museum Hotelscore21c Museum Hotels, through Chief Curator Alice Gray Stites, curated 'Furies, Fairies, Visionaries,' the inaugural exhibition of Pen + Brush's 125th anniversary celebration (January 25 – March 20, 2019). This was a major curatorial collaboration featuring 30 artists and represented 21c's first major New York exhibition curated by Stites.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Beth and a Brush competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art (Brooklyn Museum): A permanent center within the Brooklyn Museum dedicated to feminist art. Comparable mission around gender equity in the arts, but operates inside a major incumbent museum rather than as an independent nonprofit.
Direct peers
- Women's Studio Workshop: NY-based nonprofit supporting women artists through residencies, publications, and studio programs. Comparable artist-development and publishing mission focused on women, with a literary/visual arts crossover similar to Pen + Brush.
- A.I.R. Gallery: The first nonprofit feminist art gallery in the U.S., founded in 1972 in NYC. Directly comparable as a woman-focused nonprofit gallery operating exhibitions and artist support programs in the New York market.
- Leslie Lohman Museum of Art: NYC-based nonprofit art museum dedicated to LGBTQ+ artistic voices. Comparable as a mission-driven, equity-focused nonprofit gallery in Manhattan serving historically excluded artistic communities.
- The Poetry Society of New York: Active Pen + Brush partner on The Now After exhibition and The Typewriter Project. Directly comparable as a NYC nonprofit supporting literary arts, with overlapping audience and recent co-programming collaboration.
- National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA): The leading U.S. museum dedicated to women artists, founded in 1981. Closely comparable as a heritage nonprofit championing women artists through exhibitions, collections, and advocacy — though at significantly larger institutional scale.
- Printed Matter, Inc. NYC nonprofit dedicated to artists' books and publishing, operating a Chelsea storefront and programming. Comparable as a nonprofit combining visual arts programming with literary/publishing output, similar to Pen + Brush's literary program.
Others
- SCOPE Art Show: Major international art fair at which Pen + Brush exhibited (Miami 2023, 2025). Comparable as a distribution/buyer-access channel — institutional buyers like PAMM acquired Pen + Brush works from this fair, making it an ecosystem peer rather than a direct competitor.
Regional players
- Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC): NYC-based arts nonprofit supporting artists through residencies, exhibitions, and public programming. Comparable as a Manhattan-based arts nonprofit running exhibitions and artist support, with overlapping geography but broader programmatic focus.
- The National Arts Club: NYC nonprofit arts organization hosting exhibitions, literary programming, and cultural events for over a century. Comparable as a heritage Manhattan nonprofit combining visual and literary arts programming for similar NYC arts audiences.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Beth and a Brush social profiles
Digital presenceBeth and a Brush compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Beth and a Brush financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Beth and a Brush leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Beth and a Brush funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Beth and a Brush M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Beth and a Brush
What does Beth and a Brush do?
Pen + Brush provides exhibition space, literary programming, and professional advocacy for women, non-binary, and female-identified transgender artists and writers. The organization operates a physical gallery in Manhattan and offers exhibitions, publications, events, and an artist-first incubation model with a 75% to artists / 25% to organization revenue split on art sales. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, it supplements earned revenue with tax-deductible donations, sponsorships, and event ticketing.
Is Beth and a Brush a public or private company?
Beth and a Brush is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Beth and a Brush founded?
Beth and a Brush was founded in 1894. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Beth and a Brush based?
Beth and a Brush is headquartered in West New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Beth and a Brush make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Art Sales Commission is the primary driver. The others are donations and Sponsorships and event Tickets and Benefit.
Who are Beth and a Brush's main competitors?
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art (Brooklyn Museum) is listed as a broad incumbent. Direct peers are Women's Studio Workshop, A.I.R. Gallery, Leslie Lohman Museum of Art, The Poetry Society of New York, National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) and Printed Matter, Inc.. SCOPE Art Show is listed as an others. Regional players are Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) and The National Arts Club.
Does Beth and a Brush have an API?
No public API is recorded for Beth and a Brush.
What industry is Beth and a Brush in?
Beth and a Brush's product category is Nonprofit Art Gallery Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAHAH, Public Art, Arts Councils & Grantmaking Programs, with a secondary code of BPAGAHAK, Literary Arts & Writing Organizations. Its NAICS code is 71 and its SIC code is 2741.