A sweeping retrospective of Alma W. Thomas’s wide-reaching artistic practice that sheds new light on her singular search for beauty.

Achieving fame in 1972 as the first Black woman to mount a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Alma W. Thomas (1891-1978) is known for her large abstract paintings filled with irregular patterns of bright colors. This insightful reassessment of Thomas’s life and work reveals her complex and deliberate artistic existence before, during, and after the years of commercial and critical success, and describes how her innovative palette and loose application of paint grew out of a long study of color theory. Essays trace Thomas’s journey from semirural Georgia to international recognition and situate her work within the context of the Washington Color School and creative communities connected to Howard University. Featuring rarely seen theatrical designs, sculpture, family photographs, watercolors, and marionettes, this volume demonstrates how Thomas’s pursuit of beauty extended to every facet of her life–from her exuberant abstractions to the conscientious construction of her own persona through community service, teaching, and gardening.

Seth Femanis deputy director for art and interpretation and curator of photography at the Chrysler Museum of Art.

Jonathan Frederick Walzis director of curatorial affairs and curator of American art at The Columbus Museum.

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publish Date: August 17, 2021
• Pages: 336
• Dimensions: 9.8 X 11.7 X 1.3 inches | 4.98 pounds
• Language: English
• Type: Hardcover
• EAN/UPC: 9780300258936
• BISAC Categories: Individual Artists – Monographs, American – African American, Women Artists, Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions – General, History- Contemporary (1945-)

Author: Walz, Jonathan Frederick, Feman, Seth, Barber, Tiffany, Bush, Rebecca, D’Souza, Aruna, Francis, Jacq

USA

Published on 9 July 2021 by YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS in the United States.

Hardback | 336 pages, 222 colour + 85 b-w illus.
249 x 300 x 34 | 2254g

A sweeping retrospective of Alma W. Thomass wide-reaching artistic practice that sheds new light on her singular search for beauty Achieving fame in 1972 as the first Black woman to mount a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Alma W. Thomas (18911978) is known for her large abstract paintings filled with irregular patterns of bright colors. This insightful reassessment of Thomass life and work reveals her complex and deliberate artistic existence before, during, and after the years of commercial and critical success, and describes how her innovative palette and loose application of paint grew out of a long study of color theory. Essays trace Thomass journey from semirural Georgia to international recognition and situate her work within the context of the Washington Color School and creative communities connected to Howard University. Featuring rarely seen theatrical designs, sculpture, family photographs, watercolors, and marionettes, this volume demonstrates how Thomass pursuit of beauty extended to every facet of her lifefrom her exuberant abstractions to the conscientious construction of her own persona through community service, teaching, and gardening.Published in association with The Columbus Museum and the Chrysler Museum of ArtExhibition Schedule:Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA (July 9October 3, 2021) The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC (October 30, 2021January 23, 2022) Frist Art Museum, Nashville (February 25June 5, 2022) The Columbus Museum, GA (July 1September 25, 2022)