Highlights

Artist of the Month

For feature artist of the month (women’s history month is March). Feature Artist of the Month: Alma Thomas Let’s talk about color. Not just color, but joy—joy bursting through the canvas like a firework finale. You walk into a room with an Alma Thomas painting, and it’s like someone just threw open the curtains on the sunniest day of the year. A symphony of reds, blues, and yellows that dance, flicker, and hum, like jazz in visual form. But here’s the thing—Alma Thomas wasn’t just making pretty pictures. She was a disruptor, an innovator, a woman who waited half a century before the art world even had the sense to notice her. She didn’t have the privilege of being a young, reckless artist, taking over New York lofts and breaking the rules at 25. No—she was a Black woman from Columbus, Georgia, who spent 35 years teaching art in Washington, D.C., before she finally gave herself permission to create full-time. And when she did? Boom! She became the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1972—at the age of 81. Let that sink in. At a time when most people are slowing down, Alma Thomas was just warming up, shattering ceilings with nothing but a paintbrush and a whole lot of vision. Her signature? That rhythmic, mosaic-like application of color—small, deliberate strokes that come together in an almost meditative arrangement. Think Seurat meets stained glass meets cosmic energy. Her work took inspiration from everything—gardens, space travel, music, the shifting light of the day. But mostly, her paintings were about possibility. About looking up, moving forward, never letting the world define your limits. Today, her work hangs in the halls of the Smithsonian, MoMA, and The White House - a testament to what happens when you stay true to your vision. And let’s be honest: if Alma Thomas can start a world-changing career at 70, what’s stopping you? See Her Work - *Alma Thomas’ Portrait:* [Alma Thomas – Smithsonian Archives](https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.77.305) - *"Resurrection" (1966) – In The White House Collection:* [Alma Thomas – White House Historical Association](https://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/alma-thomas-resurrection) This Women’s History month on ARDI.art, we celebrate Alma Thomas—the artist who proved that creativity has no expiration date and that art, at its best, is a radical act of joy.

Alma Thomas

Washington DC