Inspired by Alma Thomas

The Eclipse, 1970, Alma Thomas, courtesy americanart.si.edu

Alma Thomas is one of my favorite artists. Her work is so happy and peaceful and I love her use of vibrant colors. Here are some facts about her:

• She was born in Columbus, Georgia in 1891 and passed away in 1978 in Washington, DC.
• She was an American abstract expressionist artist. 
• As a black woman artist, she encountered many barriers, although she did not include racial or feminist themes in her art.
• She was influenced by nature and music, which contributed to her signature style.
• In 1972, she became the first African-American artist to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
• She became a professional artist later in life, after teaching for 35 years.
• She was one of two African-American members of the Washington Color School.
• Her early paintings were realistic but her work became geometrically abstract and abstract expressionistic as she matured.
• She believed the creative spirit is independent of race or gender.

Click here to see more of Alma Thomas' work online. To view Thomas' work in person, check out the Smithsonian American Art Museum's exhibition, African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, on view in DC through September 3, 2012.
Sources: nga.gov, americanart.si.edu