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 pattern, 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.
Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas from the Smithsonian American Art Museum features works from the world’s largest public collection of the artist’s paintings and offers an intimate view of Thomas’s evolving practice during her most productive years, from 1959 to 1978. At a deeply politicized moment in American history, Thomas made a deliberate choice. As she put it, “Through color I have sought to concentrate on beauty and happiness, rather than on man’s inhumanity to man.” Organized around three themes that preoccupied her—Space, Earth, and Music—the exhibition invites visitors to experience the world as Thomas did: through luminous fields of color that evoke sound, motion, temperature, and even scent.
Special to SCMA
At SCMA, two additional works by Thomas expand the traveling exhibition. The first is Morning in the Bowl of Night (1973), which the museum bought in 2018. The second is an untitled watercolor on loan from Sylvia and Byron Lewis Sr., who have promised to donate it to SCMA in the future. Presented alongside works from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection, these two pieces offer visitors a rare opportunity to consider Thomas’s work in dialogue across collections.
Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas from the Smithsonian American Art Museum is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Generous support has been provided by the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Chris G. Harris, the Wolf Kahn Foundation, and Susan Talley.
"Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas" Introduction Smithsonian American Art Museum
Melissa Ho, curator of 20th-century art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, discusses Thomas’s legacy, the artistic techniques she used to create a multisensory experience for the viewer, and the vital role she played in the Washington, DC arts community.
Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas from the Smithsonian American Art Museum is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Generous support has been provided by the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Chris G. Harris, the Wolf Kahn Foundation, and Susan Talley.
The exhibition is made possible at SCMA by the support of the Suzannah J. Fabing Programs Fund for the Smith College Museum of Art; the Charlotte Feng Ford, class of 1983, Research and Travel Fund for Contemporary Art; the Ann Weinbaum Solomon, class of 1959, Fund; and the Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.
