Curator’s Tours of Composing Color

Join MAG Curator of American Art Jess Marten as she leads us on mini-tours of Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas, on view through May 25.

About the Artist

Alma Thomas (1891–1978) developed a powerful form of abstract painting late in life. She produced brilliantly colored and richly patterned works intimately connected to the natural world.

Born in Columbus, Georgia, Thomas became the first Howard University graduate in fine arts and earned a master’s degree in arts education at Columbia University. In 1972, she became the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Around then, Thomas reflected on her segregated childhood: “One of the things we couldn’t do was go into museums, let alone think of hanging our pictures there. My, times have changed. Just look at me now.”

For more information about Composing Color, visit mag.rochester.edu/exhibitions/composing-color.

For questions about this event, please contact MAG Marketing & Engagement at social@mag.rochester.edu. Ticket includes museum admission.

To submit a request for ASL interpretation, please email access@mag.rochester.edu at least two weeks before the event.