Women Artists

Celebrating Alma Thomas: An African American Expressionist

Heather Johnson 28 January 2023 min Read

Abstract Expressionism was a movement dominated by male artists. Painters such as Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning have held center positions on the stage as the stars of the movement, leaving many female Abstract Expressionists in their shadows – their work has been overlooked and underappreciated. 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.

Related image
Photograph of Alma Thomas at Whitney Museum of American Art exhibition opening, 1972. Archives of American Art/Smithsonian Institution.

Born in 1891 in the state of Georgia, Thomas exhibited an interest in the arts as a young girl and dreamt of becoming an architect. In 1907, as a result of escalating racial tension in the south, her family made the decision to move to Washington DC, hoping for a better quality of life and a more positive future.

Following the family’s relocation, Thomas excelled in school and in 1924, graduated from Howard University with a degree in Fine Art. She pursued a career as an art teacher and would continue to teach until her retirement in 1960. Despite finding her vocation in education, Thomas still found time to paint in her spare time and upon retiring, committed fully to her practice. Enrolling in classes at the American University, Thomas learned about color field painting and theory and began to develop her signature style.

Photograph of Alma Thomas painting in her studio
Alma Thomas working in her studio, ca. 1968. Photographed by Ida Jervis. Archives of American Art/Smithsonian Institution.

Thomas’ interest in color theory is evident in her work, resulting in beautifully expressive and experimental artworks. She was also greatly inspired by nature, as demonstrated in her artwork Earth Sermon – Beauty, Love and Peace. Although Alma Thomas’ life had clearly been dedicated to her craft, it wasn’t until the latter years that her work was institutionally recognized in an exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1972. This exhibition made Alma Thomas the first African American woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney, an incredible achievement in itself, let alone at the age of 81.

Alma Thomas, Earth Sermon – Beauty, Love And Peace, 1971, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
Alma Thomas, Earth Sermon – Beauty, Love And Peace, 1971, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
Thomas_CherryBlossomSymphony
Alma Thomas, Cherry Blossom Symphony, 1973. Courtesy of Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY, USA.
Thomas_BreezeRustling
Alma Thomas, Breeze Rustling Through Fall Flowers, 1968, The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, USA.

Alma Thomas has also been recognized posthumously, most famously by Michelle Obama. In 2009, two of Thomas’ paintings were chosen by the First Lady to be hung within the White House for the duration of the Obama presidency. The painting Resurrection can be seen in the below photograph, hanging in the newly renovated Old Family Dining Room in 2015. It is poignant to see the first African American presidency recognize Alma Thomas, as she was a woman of firsts herself– transgressing expectations both artistically and socially and making a greater contribution to the art world than art history has allowed us to know.

alma thomas ressurection in white house 2015
Alma Thomas’ painting in the White House, 2015, Washington, DC, USA. ARTnews.

Recommended

Lubaina Himid, The Operating Table, 2019. Women Artists

Stories of Black Britishness by Lubaina Himid

Winner of prestigious awards, including the Turner Prize, Lubaina Himid has a long and prolific career as an artist, curator, and teacher. Her art...

Natalia Tiberio 24 April 2023

Suzanne de Court. Suzanne de Court, Oval Plaque with the Annunciation, c. 1600, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, USA. Women Artists

Suzanne de Court’s Enamel Masterpieces

Suzanne de Court was a French artist who was active at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. She focused on the production of enamel pieces with...

Jimena Escoto 24 April 2023

Anna Boberg Women Artists

Anna Boberg – Self-taught Painter of Lofoten Landscapes

Anna Boberg was a multidisciplinary self-taught artist active in Stockholm and Paris. She is best known for her arctic landscapes from Lofoten in...

Europeana 20 March 2023

Conservators restoring Plautilla Nelli’s Last Supper, found by Jane Fortune and her association. Women Artists

Art Detective Jane Fortune: Rediscovering Forgotten Female Artists

When Jane Fortune arrived in Florence in the 1960s to study art she was left with one burning question: where are the women artists? As she often...

Natalia Iacobelli 20 March 2023