Click here to view “Autumn Drama” on the Gallery’s site. Clicking the image on their page will open a viewer that allows you to zoom in and pan around.
Talk about a second act! Alma Thomas was a longtime art teacher in Washington DC, who began her art career after 35 years of teaching. She took inspiration from nature, color theory, and the works of artists she met through her involvement in the DC arts scene. All of this developed into her unique, colorful style.
We’ll find out how she found success at age when most people have long since retired and achieved national recognition most artists dream of. And what she had in common with Henri Matisse!
The US National Arboretum was a big inspiration to Thomas and this gorgeous photo shows where she might have gotten her color palette for Autumn Drama!
SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)
“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo
Episode theme is “All About the Sun” by Quantum Jazz.
Autumn Drama
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.195514.html
Alma Thomas information
https://www.nga.gov/features/african-american-artists.html
https://americanart.si.edu/artist/alma-thomas-4778
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alma_Thomas
Alma W. Thomas : A Retrospective of the Paintings, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, 1998
(online book, best viewed in browser)
Whitney Museum of American Art exhibition catalog
The Art of Color: The Subjective Experience and Objective Rationale of Color, Johannes Itten
Alma Thomas. Autobiographical writing by Alma Thomas on her Earth paintings, before 1978. Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
National Arboretum in October photographed by DC Gardens, courtesy of the National Arboretum CC BY
Slow Art Day http://www.slowartday.com
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