Alma Thomas surprised the art world with her radiant abstract style developed later in life. She painted beauty inspired by geometry, nature, and science. Fascinated by astronomical phenomena, she was commissioned by NASA to create many works. Her space series painting, The Eclipse, portrays the total solar eclipse that was visible on the East Coast of the United States, March 7, 1970.
Alma Thomas was born in Georgia, in 1891, the oldest of four daughters. Her family moved to Washington DC in 1907 to avoid the racial violence in the South and to seek new opportunities. Her home town of Columbus, Georgia has an extensive collection of her works at the Columbus Museum of Art.
Thomas earned her Bachelors of Science in Fine Arts in 1924 from Howard University, becoming the first graduate from the university's Fine Arts program. She also earned her Masters in Art Education from Columbia University and attended American University where she first began experimenting in the Color Field genre.
She was an art teacher for many years, only gaining professional artist recognition post-retirement in her late 60s. At age 81, she became the first African American woman to host a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. The Smithsonian American Art Museum now houses a vast collection of her work, including her space-themed painting, Snoopy—Early Sun Display on Earth.
Her Watusi (Hard Edge) painting acknowledges Matisse's colored-paper art and pays homage to the Watusi, a popular 1960s dance craze. Along with other Thomas works, the Obamas chose Watusi (Hard Edge) for their White House décor.
The works of Alma Thomas are featured in the Art Authority Museum, a groundbreaking immersive art museum, with a collection of thousands of history’s most important artworks created by hundreds of the most significant artists of all time. The museum is available for Apple Vision Pro, Macintosh, iPad, and iPhone.
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 Odysseus Series, c. 1977 Group of 20 works; watercolor and pencil on paper Various dimensions
$ 1,950,000.00
Romare Bearden's series of twenty watercolors reimagines Homer's ancient epic The Odyssey through meticulous attention to compositional structure, color, and narrative. Bearden captures the mythical creatures and harrowing trials that Odysseus confronts on his quest to return home to Ithaca following the fall of Troy.
Though celebrated primarily for his innovative collage work, Bearden possessed exceptional talent as both painter and draftsman. A passionate scholar of human civilization and literary tradition, he frequently drew upon classical texts, weaving complex symbolism throughout his compositions. His dynamic portrayals of Black American life, from contemporary Harlem streetscapes to remembered Southern landscapes, emphasized ritual as a fundamental thread connecting all humanity, making it one of his most enduring themes. By depicting the entire cast in the series as Black figures, Bearden illuminates enduring connections between ancient quests for belonging and the modern African American experience.
By selecting Odysseus, literature's archetypal wanderer perpetually searching for home, Bearden evoked a personal narrative alongside the broader stories of America's Great Migration and the transatlantic slave trade's brutal displacement of millions of Africans across four centuries. Unlike Homer's triumphalist vision of conquest, Bearden's conception celebrates the human spirit's tenacity and its remarkable ability to persevere through adversity and emerge victorious.
A passionate scholar of human civilization and literary tradition, Bearden frequently drew upon classical texts, weaving complex symbolism throughout his compositions. His dynamic portrayals of Black American life, from contemporary Harlem streetscapes to remembered Southern landscapes, emphasized ritual as a fundamental thread connecting all humanity, making it one of his most enduring themes. By depicting the entire cast of The Odyssey as Black figures, Bearden illuminates enduring connections between ancient quests for belonging and the modern African American experience.
Bearden evoked a personal narrative alongside the broader stories of America's Great Migration and the transatlantic slave trade's brutal displacement of millions of Africans across four centuries. Unlike Homer's triumphalist vision of conquest, Bearden's conception celebrates the human spirit's tenacity and its remarkable ability to persevere through adversity and emerge victorious.
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 The Fall of Troy, c. 1977 Signed at upper right: Romare / bearden Watercolor and pencil on paper 6 x 8⅛ inches 15.2 x 20.6 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 Battle with Cicones, c. 1977 Signed at upper left: Rom / are / bear / den Watercolor and pencil on paper 9¾ x 13 inches 24.8 x 33 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 The Land of the Lotus Eaters, c. 1977 Watercolor and pencil on paper 6⅛ x 8¼ inches 15.6 x 21 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 The Cyclops, c. 1977 Signed at lower right: Rom / are / bear / den Watercolor and pencil on paper 7½ x 5⅝ inches 19.1 x 14.3 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 Circe's Domain, c. 1977 Signed at lower right: Rom / are / bear / den Watercolor and pencil on paper 6 x 8 inches 15.2 x 20.3 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 Circe Turns a Companion of Odysseus into a Swine, c. 1977 Signed at center right: Rom / are / bear / den Watercolor and pencil on paper 6⅛ x 8½ inches 15.6 x 21.6 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 Odysseus Leaves Circe, c. 1977 Signed at lower right: Rom / are / bear / den Watercolor and pencil on paper 10 x 12¾ inches 25.4 x 32.4 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 Realm of the Shades, c. 1977 Signed at upper left: Rom / are / bear / den Watercolor and pencil on paper 6⅛ x 8⅜ inches 15.6 x 21.3 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 The Sirens' Song, c. 1977 Signed at upper right: Rom / are / bear / den Watercolor and pencil on paper 6⅛ x 8⅜ inches 15.6 x 21.3 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 Scylla and Charybdis, c. 1977 Signed at upper right: Rom / are / bear / den Watercolor and pencil on paper 5¾ x 6¼ inches 14.6 x 15.9 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 Cattle of the Sun God, c. 1977 Signed at lower left: Rom / are / bear / den Watercolor and pencil on paper 6⅛ x 7½ inches 15.6 x 19.1 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 Calypso's Sacred Grove, c. 1977 Signed at lower left: Rom / are / bear / den Watercolor and pencil on paper 6 x 7½ inches 15.2 x 19.1 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 Poseidon the Sea God - Enemy of Odysseus, c. 1977 Signed at lower right: Romare / bearden Watercolor and pencil on paper 9 x 6 inches 22.9 x 15.2 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 The Sea Nymph, c. 1977 Signed at lower left: romare bearden Watercolor and pencil on paper 8½ x 6⅛ inches 21.6 x 15.6 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 Odysseus Leaves Nausicaa, c. 1977 Signed at lower right: Rom / are / bear / den Watercolor and pencil on paper 6 x 8¼ inches 15.2 x 21 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 Home to Ithaca, c. 1977 Watercolor and pencil on paper 5⅝ x 9 inches 14.3 x 22.9 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 Odysseus Meets his Father, c. 1977 Signed at lower right: rom / are / bear / den Watercolor and pencil on paper 8¾ x 5⅞ inches 22.2 x 14.9 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 The Return of Odysseus, c. 1977 Signed at lower right: Rom / are / bear / den Watercolor and pencil on paper 6¼ x 7⅞ inches 15.9 x 20 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 The Bow of Odysseus, c. 1977 Signed at lower left: Rom / are / bear / den Watercolor and pencil on paper 5¾ x 8 inches 14.6 x 20.3 cm
Romare Bearden 1911-1988 Odysseus and Penelope Reunited, c. 1977 Watercolor and pencil on paper 6¼ x 7¾ inches 15.9 x 19.7 cm
