Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas Opening February 8 at the Memorial Art Gallery
Rochester, NY, Jan. 15, 2025—The Memorial Art Gallery is pleased to present Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas, an exhibition that celebrates the exuberant artistic life of Alma Thomas, a trailblazer in twentieth-century American art. Composing Color will be on view in the museum’s Docent Gallery from Saturday, February 8, through Sunday, May 25, 2025.
This exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in the bold and rhythmic art of Alma Thomas, whose work transcends conventional genres. Known for her radiant use of color and intuitive approach to abstract painting, Thomas drew inspiration from the natural world, the cosmos, and music.
About Alma Thomas
Born in 1891 in Columbus, Georgia, Thomas was the first graduate of Howard University’s fine arts program and later earned a master’s degree in arts education from Columbia University. After retiring from a distinguished career as a schoolteacher, Thomas devoted herself fully to painting, creating works that would solidify her place in art history.
In 1972, Thomas became the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art and had her first major retrospective exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery. Reflecting on her early life in the segregated South, Thomas remarked, “One of the things we couldn’t do was go into museums, let alone think of hanging our pictures there. My, times have changed. Just look at me now.”
Click here to learn more and plan a visit: https://mag.rochester.edu/exhibitions/composing-color/
Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Generous support is provided by the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Chris G. Harris, The Wolf Kahn Foundation, and Susan Talley.
Sponsored by Sonya and Quincy Allen, Axom Home, Sharon and Robert Napier, Caitlin and Bennett Kireker, George and Barbara Segel, an anonymous donor, and Gail and Patrick Riggs. Additional funding is provided by Courtney and Mike DeRisio, Marilynn and David Grant, Ron Lovell, Deanne Molinari, Nanette Nocon and Karl Wessendorf.
About the Memorial Art Gallery
The Memorial Art Gallery showcases art from antiquity to the present day, including the outdoor public Centennial Sculpture Park. In addition to its permanent collection, MAG offers a year-round schedule of special exhibitions, lectures, concerts, tours, after-hours social events, and family activities.
Hours: Wednesday–Sunday, 11 am–5 pm, and until 9 pm on Thursdays. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Admission: $20; senior citizens, $18; college students with ID and children 6–18, $9. Always free to members,
University of Rochester faculty, staff, students, and children five and under. Half-price general admission on Thursdays 5–9 pm is made possible by Monroe County. Discounted admission tickets are available when purchasing online. For more information, call 585.276.8900 or visit mag.rochester.edu.
Press contact: Paige Engard, Marketing & PR Specialist: 585.474.7695 / pengard@mag.rochester.edu
Photo 1: Alma Thomas, The Eclipse, 1970, acrylic on canvas, 62 in. × 49 3⁄4 in. (157.5 × 126.4 cm). Smithsonian American Art Museum. Gift of the artist, 1978.40.3
Photo 2: Alma Thomas with her portrait by Laura Wheeler Waring, Portrait of a Lady (1947, SAAM) in her home, Washington, DC, 1968. Alma Thomas with her portrait by Laura Wheeler Waring, Portrait of a Lady (1947, SAAM) in her home, Washington, DC, 1968. Photo by Ida Jervis. Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution