Alma Thomas: A Radical Force in the Art World
Editor’s note: The Memorial Art Gallery is currently featuring an exhibit of painting by Alma Thomas. The exhibit runs through May 25, 2025.
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Alma Thomas wasn’t just an artist—she was a disruptor, a radical force in a world that continuously denied Black women a seat at the table. While the art world prided itself on its “modern” ideals, it often refused to acknowledge the talents of Black women like Thomas—talents that redefined the very essence of art itself. Her work was not merely about color; it was a declaration of power, a fight against systemic exclusion, and a testament to the possibilities of Black futures.
In the early 20th century, the art world was a space where Black artists were often dismissed, ignored, or commodified for their “exoticism.” For women, it was an entirely different kind of battle. Black women had to fight twice as hard—once for their racial identity, and again for their womanhood. Alma Thomas was forced to carve out her own space. Yet, she painted with the knowledge that her very existence as a Black woman artist was an act of defiance.
Born in 1891 in Georgia, Thomas grew up in an America where racial segregation and gender discrimination were the norm. Despite these constraints, she pursued her passion for art, earning a degree in fine arts and later teaching at Washington, D.C.’s Shaw Junior High School. For decades, Thomas’s work went largely unnoticed by the mainstream, even though she was producing groundbreaking, innovative art.
Thomas faced a battleground where every brushstroke was an assertion of her right to be seen. In a world that silenced Black women, her paintings became a loud declaration of existence, purpose, and brilliance. For decades, her art went unnoticed by the mainstream. Her mastery of color and form—elements of beauty she infused with deep, personal significance—was largely dismissed by a predominantly white, male art world that had little room for people like her.
Her work was not just an escape into color—it was an act of reclamation. Alma Thomas didn’t paint in a vacuum. As America grappled with the tumultuous Civil Rights Movement, Thomas painted to fight against a system that sought to erase her and her people from the narrative. Each vivid brushstroke she laid down on the canvas was a declaration: Black artists, especially women, deserve space, recognition, and respect. And she wouldn’t stop until she carved out that space, even if it meant doing so alone.
Despite being born into a segregated society, Thomas’s art was anything but confined by societal boundaries. She rejected traditional art forms, instead embracing abstraction and bold color choices that reflected the complexities of Black identity. Her work was, in many ways, an act of resistance—resistance against the limited roles society had assigned to Black women and against the expectation that Black artists should only be seen through the lens of tragedy, oppression, or exoticism.
Thomas's most iconic work, Resurrection, completed in 1966, is a breathtaking burst of color, resembling a flower or a fireworks display. This painting, much like her others, is a direct challenge to the conventional norms of art at the time. Yet it wasn’t just about the aesthetic beauty of the work—it was a challenge to how Black artists were expected to represent themselves. In Resurrection, Thomas freed herself from the burden of racial stereotypes, offering a vibrant celebration of life and hope, at a time when America was in the throes of civil unrest.
Her legacy is a painful reminder of the institutionalized racism that runs deep in American art history. While her contemporaries, like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, were celebrated for their contributions to Abstract Expressionism, Thomas was relegated to the margins. She painted for decades without the recognition she deserved, overshadowed by artists with less talent but more privilege. And yet, Thomas never sought validation from an art world that dismissed her. She painted for herself, and for those who came after her. In a sense, she painted for every marginalized person whose brilliance has been ignored for far too long.
Her work wasn’t just about aesthetics—it was about breaking barriers. Thomas’s rejection of the rigid, Eurocentric standards of beauty and art gave rise to a new kind of visual language. It was a language that spoke directly to the lived experiences of Black people, especially Black women. She was unapologetically herself, creating works that were simultaneously personal and universal, rooted in her identity as a Black woman and yet offering a vision for all of humanity.
Protesting Injustice with Every Brushstroke
There are many ways to protest injustice and inhumanity. Some take to the streets, some write manifestos, and others use their art to push boundaries and shatter expectations. Alma Thomas used her brushstroke. Each stroke was a defiant act of resistance against the forces that sought to silence her—forces that sought to erase her people’s history, identity, and existence. Her art was a protest, not in the traditional sense, but in a way that was no less radical. Her vibrant colors were acts of rebellion, her abstract forms were subversive statements against the restrictive narratives imposed on Black artists.
Thomas’s work not only challenged the aesthetic norms of her time, it also disrupted the racialized boundaries of art itself. Her insistence on making art that was joyful, expansive, and unapologetically Black was a radical act, forcing the art world to contend with its own complicity in the erasure of Black contributions. She painted not just to create beauty, but to make a statement about her right to be in the conversation—to demand that Black artists be seen, heard, and respected.
The Memorial Art Gallery's Role in Honoring Black Artists
This is why the current Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas exhibit at the Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) is so crucial. Running through May 25, 2025, in the Docent Gallery, this exhibition offers an unprecedented opportunity for the people of Rochester to experience Thomas’s work in person. It also plays a vital role in the ongoing struggle for Black representation in the art world.
The Memorial Art Gallery has long been a major cultural institution in Rochester, and its decision to showcase Alma Thomas’s work signals a deep commitment to acknowledging Black artists, whose contributions to the cultural landscape have often been sidelined. The gallery’s recognition of Thomas as an artist of great historical and artistic significance challenges the very boundaries of the art establishment and seeks to confront the historical neglect of Black voices in art. This exhibit stands as an acknowledgment of the Black experience and as a stark reminder that the struggle for equal representation is far from over.
Jessica Marten, one of the curators responsible for organizing the show, shared how much effort it takes to bring such an exhibition together, noting that the process can take years of planning, negotiation, and paperwork.
“When I finally got the chance to pull Alma Thomas' artwork out of its crate, it as a profoundly rewarding moment,” she said.
MAG’s exhibition serves more than just an aesthetic purpose; it acts as a platform for cultural education, awareness, and transformation. It allows Rochester’s diverse communities—especially its Black residents—to see themselves reflected in the work of an artist whose groundbreaking contributions were historically ignored. This is an opportunity to understand the struggle for equity within the art world and the power of art to challenge entrenched narratives. The exhibition serves as a moment of collective reflection—a celebration of the radical, unapologetic genius that Alma Thomas embodied in her work. It challenges the conventional art world by bringing to light the works of an artist who was not just defying expectations but reshaping the world around her.
Alma Thomas wasn’t just an artist. She was a revolutionary—a woman who painted in defiance of the erasure of Black voices from art history. Her legacy is not just about color on a canvas; it’s about color in our collective story—a story that continues to unfold, one that must include the voices of Black artists. As we continue to fight for justice and equity, let Thomas’s work serve as both inspiration and a challenge: to build spaces where Black brilliance is not just accepted, but celebrated.
~ George Cassidy Payne is a writer, educator, crisis counselor, photographer, and human rights advocate. He has written extensively for Minority Reporter. Payne has master's degrees from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. He lives and works in Irondequoit, NY.
PHOTO CAPTIONS
PHOTO # 1 Alma Thomas, The Eclipse, 1970, acrylic on canvas, 62 × 49 3/4 in. (157.5 × 126.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1978.40.3; photo by George C. Payne
Photo # 2 Orion, 1973; Acrylic on canvas, 59-3/4 x 54 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay. © Estate of Alma Woodsey Thomas; photo by Lee Stalsworth.
Photo # 3 Snoopy Sees a Sunrise, 1970, acrylic on canvas, 54-11/16th x 54-11/16 x 2-3/4 in., Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, gift of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Anderson.
Photo # 4: photo from MAG exhibit
Photo # 5: Red Azaleas Singing and Dancing Rock and Roll Music, 1976, acrylic on canvas, 73-3/4 × 158-1/2 × 2-1/2in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, bequest of the artist, 1980.36.2A-C.
Photo # 6: Alma Thomas with two students at the Howard University Art Gallery, 1928 or after. Alma W. Thomas Papers, The Columbus Museum
Photo #7 Portrait
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