From Columbus, Georgia to the World: The Enduring Legacy of Alma Thomas
- TheColumbusite
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Written by Carrie Beth Wallace
It’s true.
Alma Thomas was the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. It’s also true that she became internationally known seemingly overnight after retiring from a decades-long career in public education. She attended demonstrations during the height of the Civil Rights Movement in Washington, D.C. Her work quickly entered the permanent collections of some of the most prestigious institutions in the art world.
But her success did not happen by accident.
When Thomas’s work first gained national attention, much of the media embraced a simplified, almost mythical narrative: a retired schoolteacher who suddenly burst onto the art world’s stage like a meteor in the night sky.
While this story is not entirely untrue, it is incomplete.
It overlooks decades of disciplined study, experimentation, and unwavering commitment to her craft. Alma Thomas’s place in art history was earned—through persistence, curiosity, and a lifetime devoted to making. Her work, in every phase, deserves careful attention and deep respect for the artist who created it.
For too long, the world was given only fragments of who Alma Thomas truly was.
That has begun to change in recent years. Over the past decade, her reputation has grown dramatically. Her work now appears in major museums across the globe, where it is studied, celebrated, and permanently displayed.
But it was not always this way.
Though Thomas lived in Washington, D.C. during the Civil Rights Movement, she was intentional about how and when she participated. She was deeply committed to social justice, yet equally determined not to allow political pressure to overshadow her artistic voice. As historian Nell Irvin Painter wrote in Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful, “Thomas was old enough to stay her own course in the 1960s, when Black Consciousness reshaped the work of artists” (Yale University Press, 2021).
Thomas did not center her work on protest, but the shifting cultural landscape of the era ultimately opened new doors. As desegregation began to reshape the art world, her paintings were included in major exhibitions. These early efforts toward inclusion introduced her to wider audiences and revealed the remarkable strength of her vision.
Still, recognition proved fragile.
Despite historic milestones—including her Whitney solo exhibition and numerous museum acquisitions—Thomas’s name and style eventually faded from public attention. Like so many artists of color, her work was undervalued and overlooked for years.
Her resurgence began in 2009, when President and First Lady Obama selected her work while redesigning the White House’s private quarters. Their choice sparked renewed national interest, reintroducing Alma Thomas to a new generation.
This time, the attention endured.
In the years that followed, major exhibitions revisited her life and work, often highlighting the extraordinary paintings she created in her later years. Museums across the country mounted retrospectives, including The Columbus Museum, which hosted the nationally touring exhibition Alma Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful in 2022.
Since then, exhibitions and scholarship have continued to grow worldwide—evidence of a cultural moment finally ready to engage fully with her legacy.
Today, the story of Alma Thomas is being told in its entirety.
Not as a sudden success story.
Not as a footnote.
Not as a curiosity.
But as the life of a brilliant, disciplined, visionary artist who spent decades refining her voice before the world was ready to listen.
As her full story comes into focus, it is time for the world to recognize what Columbus, Georgia has always known:
Alma Thomas’s story is a vibrant part of Columbus, Georgia's story. From this place, she built a life in color that still speaks to the world – and it is a legacy we are called to remember, share, and honor for generations to come. ◼️
