Delete Resource - Installation shots from Alma Thomas exhibition at Whitney Museum of American Art The titles of her paintings often reflect this influence. Highlights from this collection are traveling to several cities across the United States in the exhibition African American Art in the 20th Century. Forms part of: Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001 May 23, 2015 - Alma Thomas. Alma W. Thomas, Blast Off, 1970, acrylic on canvas, 74 x 54 inches. Dec 17, 2018 - Alma Thomas, Mars Dust (1972). In 1969 she began the Space or Snoopy series so named because "Snoopy" was a term astronauts used to describe a space vehicle used on the moon's surface. Alma W. Thomas [Whitney Museum] presents a series of vibrant primitivist abstractions. at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, in 1971. Her father worked in a church and her mother was a seamstress and homemaker. In 1907, her family moved to Washington, D.C., seeking relief from the racial violence in the South. $36.00. Thomas and Sam Gilliam were the only two African American members of the Washington Color School. Three years later a posthumous retrospective exhibition was held at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American Art. One of these artists is Alma Thomas, a painter, educator and the first African American woman to have a solo exhibition of her work in the Whitney Museum of Art. Alma Woodsey Thomas was an American painter best known for her colorful, abstract compositions. Color is life. At the age of 80, Thomas’s exuberantly colored abstractions were exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, where she was the first black female artist to be given a solo show. The tones, however, became more subdued, and the formerly vertical and horizontal accents of Thomas's brush strokes became more diverse in movement, and included diagonals, diamond shapes, and asymmetrical surface patterns. Born in Georgia in 1891, Alma Woodsey Thomas was the eldest daughter of John Harris Thomas, a successful businessman, and Amelia Cantey, a dress designer. Lynda Roscoe Hartigan African-American Art: 19th and 20th-Century Selections (brochure. your own Pins on Pinterest Barnett-Aden Gallery. Rights Statement: Current copyright status is undetermined. Contributing Institution Archives of American Art. During her professional career she had remained visible in Washington's art community, and in the late 1950s she developed the confidence and knowledge to pursue the highly colored abstract style for which she is known. Subjects Thomas, Alma… Thomas was in her eighth decade of life when she produced her most important works. During the 1960s Alma Thomas emerged as an exuberant colorist, abstracting shapes and patterns from the trees and flowers around her. Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. In 1972, she became the first African-American woman to be the subject of a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Color was the basis of her painting, undeniably reflecting her life-long study of color theory as well as the influence of luminous, elegant abstract works by Washington-based Color Field painters such as Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, and Gene Davis. She was the first African American woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art (1972). Alma Thomas was a painter who viewed nature as a colorful, abstract mosaic. Born in Georgia in 1891, Alma Woodsey Thomas was the eldest daughter of John Harris Thomas, a successful businessman, and Amelia Cantey, a dress designer. Broken rows of color pats, a hallmark of her mature style, alternate with emphatic vertical bands. Alma Woodsey Thomas was born in Columbus, Georgia, on September 22, 1891. During her professional career she had remained visible in Washington's art community, and in the late 1950s she developed the confidence and knowledge to pursue the highly colored abstract style for which she is known. Image. Citation Information: Photograph of Alma Thomas with her work at the Whitney Museum of American Art, circa 1972. Alma Thomas started her painting career at the age of 68, after retiring from teaching art to junior high school students in Washington, DC. Her work is currently on view at the White House. ⠀ How do Thomas’s brushstrokes inspire you? Alma Thomas is organized by The Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College and The Studio Museum in Harlem. First African American woman solo exhibit Whitney The family lived in a large Victorian house high on a hill overlooking the town where Thomas spent her childhood observing the beauty and color of nature. 1 photographic print : b&w ; 9 x 13 cm. Suffering from the pain of arthritis at the time of her retirement, she considered giving up painting. 926 records for Thomas Whitney. First at the Whitney. Thomas Porter Whitney … Thomas Porter Whitney … Alma W. Thomas [Whitney Museum] presents a series of vibrant primitivist abstractions. Everything is Beautiful Alma W. Thomas (American, 1891 – 1978), Air View of a Spring Nursery, 1966, acrylic on canvas, The Columbus Museum purchase and gift of the National Association of Negro Business Women, and the Artist, G.1979.53 Description: Black and white photograph of Alma Thomas with her artwork at the opening of an exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Inscription (handwritten) on verso: 4 more this size andone 8 x 10; 1/14 a-15; opening @ Whitney. Thomas died in Washington, D.C., in 1978 at the age of eighty-six. In recent years he donated significant collections of Russian art and manuscripts to his alma mater, Amherst College, and established a Russian studies center there. Man's landing on the moon in 1969 exerted a profound influence on Thomas, and provided the theme for her second major group of paintings. Later that year Corcoran Gallery held a larger exhibition, including “Alma Thomas Day” on September 9, 1972, in W… In 1921 she was the first student to enroll in Howard Universitys fine arts course, where she painted still lifes and made ceramic sculptures. Find Thomas Whitney's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading online directory for contact information. Alma Thomas was an important role model for women, African-American artists, and older artists (she was recognized for her paintings after her retirement from teaching). Light is the mother of color. From the window of her house she enjoyed watching the ever-changing patterns that light created on her trees and flower garden. Thomas's personalized mature style consisted of broad, mosaic-like patches of vibrant color applied in concentric circles or vertical stripes. Her home life was a constant changing environment of cultural activities, as her parents arranged for various lecturers and speakers to make presentations there. Alma Thomas started her painting career at the age of 68, after retiring from teaching art to junior high school students in Washington, DC. See available paintings, and works on paper for sale and learn about the artist. In 1972, at the age of 80, Thomas had what she called her “banner year,” beginning with New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art’s first ever solo exhibition by a black woman. Quick View Qty. Alma Thomas at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, in 1971. Jan 18, 2018 - This Pin was discovered by Becky Berkstresser Pinson. Alma W. Thomas (1972), Whitney Museum of American Art, Printed Material. Painter. Stephanie Weaver, Hallelujah, Tote Bag. Alma Thomas’s career is as unlikely as any in 20th-century America, and at the same time utterly reasonable. A prominent abstract painter of the 1960s and 1970s, Alma Thomas was the first African American woman to have a solo art exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, in 1971. 3 In 1924, she became the first graduate of the art department at Howard University, a historically Black university (HBCU) located in the District. In 1998 the Fort Wayne Museum of Art in Indiana organized a retrospective exhibition of her paintings that traveled to Columbus. Red Sunset, Old Pond Concerto [SAAM, 1977.48.5] emphasizes the intensity of a sunset as it overtakes a landscape, penetrating layers of greenery to strike darkening water. Alma Woodsey Thomas was born in Columbus, Georgia, on September 22, 1891. Thomas taught art to junior high school students in Washington for more than thirty years, postponing any serious paintin… She graduated in 1924 with a degree in fine arts, becoming the first Howard University student and perhaps the first African American woman anywhere to hold that degree. Before her death in 1978, Thomas had achieved national recognition as a major woman artist devoted to abstract painting. Unlikely: after working as a junior high school art teacher for 35 years, she began a career as a painter at nearly 70, and in the course of her remaining two decades made extraordinary work that won widespread acclaim despite its maker being not male, not white, and not in New York. Discover (and save!) This exhibition is curated by Ian Berry, Dayton Director of the Tang Museum and Lauren Haynes, Associate Curator, Permanent Collection at the Studio Museum and is supported by the Friends of the Tang. After a long and distinguished career as a teacher, Thomas retired in 1960 to focus her energies entirely on her own art. Alma W. Thomas, the Washington color painter whose second art career earned her a national reputation, died yesterday at Howard University Hospital following aortal surgery. Take a silent stroll through our current exhibition “The Fullness of Color” for a look at Alma Thomas’s “Cherry Blossom Symphony” (1973). Alma Woodsey Thomas 1891–1978 Thomas was born in Columbus, Georgia, the oldest of four girls. Inscription (handwritten) on verso: Alma at the exhibition of her paintings at the Whitney Museum of American Art, April 25 - May 28, 1972, New York. View Alma Thomas’s 107 artworks on artnet. Although Thomas progressed to painting in acrylics on large canvases, she continued to produce many watercolors that were studies for her paintings. In 1907 the Thomas family moved to Washington, D.C., where they settled in a house that Alma would occupy for the next seventy-one years. Alma Thomas started her painting career at the age of 68, after retiring from teaching art to junior high school students in Washington, DC. ⠀ “The Fullness of Color” is on view through March 14. Thomas was the first student to graduate with a fine arts degree from Howard University. Throughout her teaching career she painted and exhibited academic still lifes and realistic paintings in group shows of African-American artists. This exhibition is curated by Ian Berry, Dayton Director of the Tang Museum and Lauren Haynes, Associate Curator, Permanent Collection at the Studio Museum and is supported by the Friends of the Tang. Thomas's family was well respected in Columbus, and she and her sisters grew up in comfortable surroundings. Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery. We are not announcing a reopening date at this time and will provide updates on our websites and social media. In Washington, D.C., where she lived and worked after 1921, Thomas became identified with Morris Louis, Gene Davis, and other Color Field painters active in the area since the 1950s. In 1972, at the age of 80, she became the first African-American woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Mars dust. In these canvases, brilliant shades of green, pale and deep blue, violet, deep red, light red, orange, and yellow are offset by white areas of untouched raw canvas, suggesting jewel-like Byzantine mosaics. your own Pins on Pinterest Alma Thomas at the opening of her solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1972. Alma Thomas showed artistic tendencies as a child when she used local clays to make homemade puppets and sculptures. Alma Thomas showed artistic tendencies as a child when she used local clays to make homemade puppets and sculptures. The Smithsonian American Art Museum is home to one of the most significant collections of African American art in the world. In Snoopy Sees a Sunrise of 1970, she placed a circular form within the mosaic patch of colors and accented it with curved bands of light colors. At the age of 80, Thomas’s exuberantly colored abstractions were exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, where she was the first black female artist to be given a solo show. Whitney. Unlikely: after working as a junior high school art teacher for 35 years, she began a career as a painter at nearly 70, and in the course of her remaining two decades made extraordinary work that won widespread acclaim despite its maker being not male, not white, and not in New York. The Georgia native spent most of her life in Washington D.C., where she taught art at Shaw Junior High School for 35 years. In 1972 she was honored with one-woman exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art and at the Corcoran Gallery of Art; that same year one of her paintings was selected for the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. During the 1950s Thomas attended art classes at American University in Washington. Born in Georgia in 1891, Alma Woodsey Thomas was the eldest daughter of John Harris Thomas, a successful businessman, and Amelia Cantey, a dress designer. In 1907, Thomas moved with her family to Washington, D.C. to pursue education opportunities and escape racial violence in the South. Oct 19, 2015 - The Whitney Museum of American Art. Alma Thomas (1891-1978) was an African-American artist best known for her signature style of overlaid planes of colorful, thumb-sized rectangles. (Page 2) Alma Woodsey Thomas (September 22, 1891 – February 24, 1978) was an African American Expressionist painter and art educator. A series of acclaimed solo shows at other galleries as well as participation in group exhibits of African American artists--though she would be the first to tell you she was not a “black artist”--followed the exhibition at Howard. As a black woman artist, Thomas encountered many barriers; she did not, however, turn to racial or feminist issues in her art, believing rather that the creative spirit is independent of race or gender. Blast Off depicts an elongated triangular arrangement of dark blue patches rising dramatically and evocatively against a background of pale pinks and oranges. Through her eyes, leaves fluttering outside her window became a swirling dance of autumn hues, an eclipse would be a kaleidoscope of luminous tones, and a flower garden exploded … Chris Ofili, Afromuses Couple (Man), Tea Towel. ... Alma Thomas, The Azaleas Sway With the Breeze, Scarf. A decade later, she earned a Master of Arts degree in education from Columbia University. | Alma Thomas … First at Howard University. Alma Woodsey Thomas developed her signature abstract painting style in her late 70s, after spending more than three decades teaching art in a Washington, D.C., junior high school. Their irregular intervals create a visual rhythm akin to music, while dappled reds, greens, and blue-blacks orchestrate subtle nuances and dramatic contrasts. Delete Resource - Installation shots from Alma Thomas exhibition at Whitney Museum of American Art In 1921, … Thomas was the first African-American woman to have her own exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, in 1972. Partner Smithsonian Institution. The final years of her life brought awards and recognition. Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. Her home life was a constant changing environment of cultural activities, as her parents arranged for various lecturers and speakers to make presentations there. Photograph of Alma Thomas at Whitney Museum of American Art exhibition opening, 1972 / unidentified photographer. By the way, this artist, Alma Woodsey Thomas, developed her signature style—large, abstract paintings filled with patterns of bright colors—in her 70s. Alma Thomas at the opening of her solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1972. Located in New York City. Creator: Whitten, Jack, 1939-2018, photographer. After a long and distinguished career as a teacher, Thomas retired in 1960 to focus her energies entirely on her own art. Forms part of: Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. Creator Thomas, Alma. Curator Jonathan Walz of The Columbus Museum said she commissioned a designer to make the bold-patterned dress she wore to the historic event. Sources. Citation Information: Photograph of Alma Thomas with her work at the Whitney Museum of American Art, circa 1972. Alma Woodsey Thomas was an American artist and educator whose distinctive color field paintings recall the techniques of Pointillism and Abstract Expressionism while representing an altogether independent artistic vision and body of work. Alma Thomas (1891-1978) was a leading American abstract painter based in Washington, DC. She was also the first African-American woman to have a solo exhibition of her work at New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art. Thomas frequently talked about ​“watching the leaves and flowers tossing in the wind as though they were singing and dancing.” She also liked to imagine seeing natural forms from a plane. Although her paintings were competent, they were never singled out for individual recognition. grupa o.k. Located in New York City. Her close relationships with fellow artists Gene Davis, Jacob Kainen, and Morris Louis of the Washington Color Painters, whose works emphasized abstract color shapes, assured her acceptance in this circle. Thomas's work was included in the important show Contemporary Black Artists in America, held in 1971 at the Whitney Museum in New York. Thomas was the first African-American woman to hold a solo show at the Whitney. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Despite this rich atmosphere of culture, the prevalent social ills of racism and a poor education system for African Americans caused the Thomas family to worry about the future of their family in Georgia. Inspired by such events as the flight of Apollo 12, she creates a … After teaching art for several years, Thomas enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C., to study costume design. The majority of Thomas's Space paintings are large sparkling works with implied movement achieved through floating patterns of broken colors against a white background. Thomas was the first graduate of Howard University’s School of Fine Arts (1924). She lived and worked primarily in Washington, D.C. and the Washington Post described her as a force in the Washington Color School. # RotundaReflections: Alma Thomas. Alma W. Thomas, Blast Off, 1970, acrylic on canvas, 74 x 54 inches. All public programs are online only, on-site public tours and events are currently suspended. A prominent abstract painter of the 1960s and 1970s, Alma Thomas was the first African American woman to have a solo art exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, in 1971.

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