Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas from the Smithsonian American Art Museum invites visitors to see the world through the eyes of Alma Thomas, the iconic American artist who created a style of her own with dazzling interplays of patterns and vibrant colors.

Composing Color explores the life of the groundbreaking American artist and educator, drawing on the extensive holdings of her paintings at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM). Thomas's abstract style is distinct, where color is symbolic and multisensory, evoking sound, motion, temperature, and even scent. The exhibition is organized around the artist’s favorite themes of space, earth, and music.

Born in 1891 in Columbus, Georgia, Thomas moved to Washington, DC, with her family when she was a teenager. She became Howard University’s first student to earn a degree in fine art in 1924 and went on to teach art in DC public schools for more than 30 years, as well as serving as vice-president of the Barnett Aden Gallery, one of the nation’s first racially integrated and Black-owned art galleries. At the age of 80, in 1972, Thomas presented solo exhibitions at both the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, earning her unprecedented recognition for a Black woman artist.

Her constant source of inspiration was nature, whether seen through her kitchen window or from outer space. Throughout politically charged times in American history and life, Thomas maintained her belief in the healing power of beauty and dedicated her life to its cultivation and expression through art.

Location: Hamilton Building, Level 1