Maker/Artist
Thomas, Alma
American painter, 1891-1978
Born in Columbus, Georgia in 1891, Alma Thomas's family moved to Washington, D.C. when Thomas was a teenager. She graduated from Howard University's art department in 1924, then taught middle school. While working as a teacher, Thomas earned a master's degree in art education from Columbia University. During her fifties, Thomas took more painting classes at American University, and in 1972 she became the first Black woman to receive a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She did not subscribe to a school or discipline, but her work is closely related to the Washington Color School.
