Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful
Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful
Edited by Seth Feman and Jonathan Frederick Walz
Contributions by Tiffany Barber, Rebecca Bush, Aruna D'Souza, Jacqueline Francis, Kimberli Gant, Ross Gay, Grey Gundaker, Michael D. Harris, Melanee Harvey, Melissa Ho, Amber Kerr, Gwen Manthey, Amy M. Mooney, Sydney Nikolaus, James Nisbet, Nell Painter, Rebecca VanDiver
Yale University Press, 2021
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DESCRIPTION
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.
EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, July 9–October 3, 2021
The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, October 30, 2021–January 23, 2022
Frist Art Museum, Nashville, February 25–June 5, 2022
The Columbus Museum, GA, July 1–September 25, 2022
ABOUT THE EDITORS
Seth Feman is deputy director for art and interpretation and curator of photography at the Chrysler Museum of Art.
Jonathan Frederick Walz is director of curatorial affairs and curator of American art at The Columbus Museum.