Alma Thomas | Resurrection (1966)

This acrylic and graphite on canvas painting was done by Alma Thomas, who was an educator and artist in Washington, D.C. for most of her career. She was a member of the Washington Color School. This painting was unveiled as part of the White House Collection during Black History Month 2015 and is the first in this collection by an African-American woman. This painting was acquired for the White House Collection with support from George B. Hartzog, Jr., and the White House Acquisition Trust/White House Historical Association.

Image rights: White House Collection/White House Historical Association

"This Art is Your Art" Competition: The White House Historical Association, Artsy, and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation

Gift of George B. Hartzog, Jr. and the White House Acquisition Trust and White House Historical Association, 2014

About Alma Thomas

Alma Woodsey Thomas was an American artist and educator whose distinctive color field paintings recall the techniques of Pointillism and Abstract Expressionism while representing an altogether independent artistic vision and body of work. The Georgia native spent most of her life in Washington D.C., where she taught art at Shaw Junior High School for 35 years. Thomas was actively involved in the local arts community, and become associated with the Washington Color School. Thomas powerfully refused to accept discriminatory labels and restrictions on her work and herself. Although she chose to let her art carry its own message, Thomas was nonetheless a groundbreaking and influential figure, and at the age of 80, she became the first African-American woman featured in a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1972.

American, 1891-1978, Columbus, Georgia, based in Washington, D.C.