Alma Thomas was an influential American painter and educator whose vibrant abstract works established her as a major figure in twentieth-century American art. Born in 1891, Thomas lived and worked primarily in Washington, D.C., where she taught art for more than thirty-five years at Shaw Junior High School before fully dedicating herself to painting after retirement. She was the first graduate of Howard University’s art department and remained closely connected to the institution throughout her life.
Thomas became renowned for her radiant, mosaic-like paintings composed of energetic patches of color inspired by nature, gardens, music, and space exploration. Often associated with the Washington Color School and Black abstraction, her work celebrated movement, light, and optimism through bold color relationships and rhythmic compositions. Despite facing racial and gender barriers throughout her career, Thomas achieved historic recognition, becoming the first African-American woman to have artwork included in the White House permanent collection. Today, her paintings are held in major museums including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which houses the world’s largest public collection of her work.
