Celebrating African American Art Throughout the Year, 2023 Calendars Feature Alma Thomas, Winfred Rembert, Faith Ringgold, Jacob Lawrence & More
ALMA THOMAS IS RECOGNIZED for her masterful use of color, pattern, and rhythm. With cascading columns of color raining down on a large-scale canvas, “The Eagle Has Landed” (1970-71) is a prominent example of her famed Space paintings. Dominated by vertical planes of blue-toned dabs, the abstract work was inspired by the first moon...
Latest News in Black Art: Innovative Painter Sam Gilliam Has Died, Artist Vaughn Spann in Architectural Digest, Columbus, Ga. Celebrates Artist Alma Thomas & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Portrait of Sam Gilliam (1933-2022). | Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, and Pace Gallery. Photo by Fredrik Nilsen Studio Lives The innovative abstract artist Sam Gilliam (1933-2022) died on June 25 at...
14 Jigsaw Puzzles Celebrate Work of Highly Regarded Black Artists, From Derrick Adams, Faith Ringgold, and Gee’s Bend Quilters to Horace Pippin and Jacob Lawrence
THREE FOLK MUSICIANS (1967) by Romare Bearden is one of the Virginia Museum of Fine Art’s prized acquisitions. The large-scale collage was added to the collection of the Richmond museum in 2016 and with the newfound popularity of jigsaw puzzles, a 500-piece version of the work is now available from the museum’s gift shop....
Culture Type Gift Guide 2021: Celebrate the Holidays with Fabulous Finds Inspired by Leading Black Artists
THE EVER-PRESENT FLORAL PATTERNS in the background of Kehinde Wiley’s famous portraits inspired a set of notecards. A deck of playing cards features artwork by Gee’s Bend, Ala., quilt artists. Rashid Johnson’s Untitled Escape Collage is emblazoned on a hoodie. From apparel and accessories to stationery and home goods, African American artists have inspired...
Latest News in Black Art: Torkwase Dyson and Dominic Chambers Joined New Galleries, Alma Thomas House for Sale in Washington, D.C. & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Artist Torkwase Dyson in her New York studio. | Photo by Weston Wells Representation Torkwase Dyson joined Gray, the Chicago-based gallery. Dyson’s practice spans painting, drawing, installation, and sculpture. Her abstract works explore how...
October Openings: 26 U.S. Museum Exhibitions Feature Betye Saar, Conrad Egyir, Jennifer Packer, ‘Afro-Atlantic Histories,’ Plus Prospect 5 New Orleans, and More
NEW U.S. ART MUSEUM and institutional exhibitions opening in October include solo shows of Conrad Egyir in San Jose, Betye Saar in Miami, Thaddeus Mosley in Baltimore, and Jennifer Packer in New York. A visit to the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., will make efficient use of your time, with three must-see shows opening...
Happy Birthday: Alma Thomas Would Have Been 130 Today, New Exhibitions, Film, Books, & More Celebrate the Pioneering Artist
Alma Thomas at the Whitney Museum in 1972 | Smithsonian Archives of American Art TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF FALL and the 130th anniversary of the birth of Alma Thomas (1891-1978), an occasion for celebration. The pioneering artist known for her vibrant and rhythmic abstract paintings was born Sept. 22, 1891. Inspired...
A Rare Occurrence, New 2022 Wall Calendars Feature Celebrated Black Women Artists Faith Ringgold and Alma Thomas
ANNUAL SURVEYS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART, wall calendars provide an affordable way to appreciate and display the work of Black artists. In recent years, the broadening interest in African American art has been reflected in an increasing number of wall calendars featuring the work. The selections have included surveys of historic, modern, and contemporary...
From California to Chicago, Tennessee to Maine, 15 of Summer’s Best Museum Exhibitions Remain on View This Fall
A BROAD SELECTION of exhibitions opened at art museums throughout the United States over the summer months. A great number of these shows remain on view, some through September, others further into the fall and beyond. Major traveling exhibitions of Bob Thompson, Joseph Yoakum, and Alma Thomas are underway. The first solo museum exhibitions...
Washington Plans Citywide Celebration of Pioneering Artist Alma Thomas, First Lady Michelle Obama Opening Major Symposium
WASHINGTON, D.C., is gearing up for a citywide celebration of artist Alma Thomas (1891-1978) this fall. Honoring her contributions to the city’s cultural heritage, the events coincide with the traveling exhibition “Alma Thomas: Everything is Beautiful,” opening Oct. 30 at The Phillips Collection. Institutions throughout Washington are participating in the celebration, including the National...
On Occasion of New Exhibition ‘Alma Thomas: Everything is Beautiful,’ Curators and Scholars Reflect on Lesser-Known Aspects of Artist’s Life and Work
“Alma W. Thomas: Everything is Beautiful,” Chrysler Museum of Art A NEW FOUR-CITY traveling exhibition offers an expansive look at the life and work of Alma Thomas (1891-1978). A pioneer in post-World War II abstraction, Thomas is arguably the earliest example of a highly regarded African American female artist working in abstraction. Best known...
Greenville County Museum of Art in South Carolina Sells Alma Thomas Painting to Anonymous Buyer for $2.8 Million
THE GREENVILLE COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART (GCMA) in Greenville, S.C., sold “Alma’s Flower Garden” (circa 1968) for $2.8 million to an anonymous buyer. The museum confirmed the sale to The Greenville News and USA Today Network last week. The museum’s board voted unanimously on Oct. 21, 2020, granting approval to deaccession one work of...
National Puzzle Day: Piece Together Major Works by African American Artists, Including Mickalene Thomas, Charles White, Alma Thomas, and Archibald Motley
STAYING CLOSE TO HOME over the past year, due to COVID-19, has breathed new life into a traditional past time. An entertaining way to pass the hours and relieve stress, jigsaw puzzles are more popular than ever. Several focus on signigicant works by important 20th century African American artists such as Charles White, Alma...
Everything is Beautiful: Major Alma W. Thomas Traveling Exhibition Opening at Chrysler Museum of Art in July 2021
TOMORROW, SEPT. 22, would have been the 129th birthday of artist Alma Thomas (1891-1978). The announcement today of a major traveling exhibition co-organized by the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Va., and the Columbus Museum in her hometown of Columbus, Ga., is a wonderful way to celebrate her life and legacy. “Alma W....
Longtime Home of Artist Alma Thomas For Sale in Washington, D.C., for $2.2 Million+
Long & Foster Real Estate A RED BRICK ITALIANATE RESIDENCE in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., was home to artist Alma Thomas (1891-1978) for more than 70 years. The house played an integral role in her life and artistic practice. The kitchen served as her studio, where she made the dab-patterned abstract...
Booklist: Curator and Designer Duro Olowu’s ‘Top 10’ Includes Fela Kuti, David Hammons, Alma Thomas, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
Designer Duro Olowu A STANDARD BEARER for fashion, art, design, and style, Duro Olowu is inspired by a spectrum of individuals—cultural figures past and present, including the inimitable Grace Jones, musician and activist Fela Kuti, couturier Madame Grés (Alix Barton), and fashion designer Willi Smith. Olowu’s “Top 10” list, published in the May/June 2020...
Asked to Name an Artwork She’d Want to Live With, Curator Zoé Whitley Immediately Thought of a 1973 Alma Thomas Painting
MUSEUM CURATORS are constantly immersed in art, which might make it a challenge to choose one single work to which they are particularly drawn. When asked to name an artwork she’d want to live with, Zoé Whitley thought about the spring tones of a stunning abstract painting made half a century ago. “I don’t...
Works by Alma Thomas, Charles White, and Beauford Delaney Among Highlights at Christie’s Contemporary Sale
SPRING IS A RECURRING THEME in the abstract paintings of Alma Thomas (1891-1978), who lived and worked in Washington, D.C. Her rhythmic compositions were inspired by the rustling leaves on the Holly Tree outside the bay window in the front room of her home. Thomas also visited the National Arboretum to “get impressions,” as...
Paintings by 20th Century Giants Alma Thomas, Norman Lewis, and Charles White Smashed Auction Records at Evening Sales in New York
THREE GIANTS of 20th century American art were represented in the evening auctions of contemporary art at Sotheby’s and Christie’s for the first time in November. The auction houses offer only a few dozen works in their evening auctions and the coveted slots are reserved for premier works by important artists. Significant works by...
Culture Talk: Collector Pamela Joyner on the Artists Defining the History and Shaping the Future of Black Abstract Art
SINCE 1999, PAMELA J. JOYNER and Alfred J. Giuffrida have focused their collecting on abstract art by artists of African descent. Nearing 100 artists, the collection is documented in a hefty volume, “Four Generations: The Joyner / Giuffrida Collection of Abstract Art,” and a traveling exhibition. After touring four museums, “Solidary & Solitary: The...
