Alma Thomas

American, 1891-1978

Alma Thomas was an American painter celebrated for her vibrant color fields and abstract patterns drawn from nature. A leading figure in the Washington Color School, her work bridged personal observation with formal experimentation, often exploring the shifting light and rhythm of the natural world.

Born in Columbus, Georgia, she moved with her family to Washington, D.C. in 1907 to escape racial violence. In 1924, she became the first graduate of Howard University’s art department and began a 35-year career teaching art. Encouraged by her mentor James V. Herring and bolstered by a master’s degree from Columbia University, she remained deeply engaged with art and education throughout her life.

Though arthritis threatened to end her painting in the 1960s, a retrospective at Howard renewed her commitment to art. She entered her most recognized phase, marked by bold abstraction and mosaic-like compositions inspired by the view outside her window.

In 1972, Thomas became the first African American woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Her work was later acquired by major institutions including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the White House Collection—where she became the first Black woman to have her work permanently installed. By the time of her death, she had earned lasting recognition as a central figure in American abstraction and a trailblazer for Black and female artists.