Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Alma Thomas (1891–1978) is a singular figure in twentieth-century American art. After retiring from a long career as a schoolteacher, she developed a distinctive form of abstraction defined by bold patterns, rhythmic composition, and radiant color. Inspired by nature, the cosmos, and music, Thomas created vibrant paintings that transcended established categories, drawing on elements of gestural abstraction and color field painting while forging a style entirely her own.
Painting Nature: 19th-century American and French Landscapes
Painting Nature: 19th-century American and French Landscapes brings together a group of paintings from three influential 19th-century movements: the Hudson River School, the Barbizon School, and French Impressionism. Though each developed independently, all shared a deep engagement with nature at a time of rapid industrialization and urban growth.
People and Stories
This installation of photographs from SCMA’s collection invites visitors to slow down and imagine the lives unfolding in each image. What each person notices, and what they bring from their own experiences, shapes the story they see. Moving from photograph to photograph, visitors may consider what is happening in the captured moment, which visual clues build a narrative, what lies beyond the frame, and what came before or might follow.
Crafting Worlds: Japanese Decorative Arts from the 18th through 21st Centuries
Crafts are functional objects creatively made by skillful artisans using specialized knowledge and techniques. As our world increasingly embraces modes of making that are ever more detached from the human hand and mind, what is the significance of making crafts?
We Have Always Known the Wind's Direction
Inas Halabi, We Have Always Known the Wind’s Direction (2019–2020), HD video, color, sound, Arabic, 12 min
Worlds in Process: Art from the SCMA Collection
This project, called Worlds in Process: Art from the SCMA Collection, pilots new strategies for displaying the collection.
The installation includes artworks from a range of time periods, cultures, materials, and perspectives alongside places to gather and reflect. When a group of museum staff set out to reimagine this floor, we wanted to try some new approaches, which included deepening our understanding of what visitors (especially Smith College students) find most meaningful and welcoming.
The Ancient World Gallery
