About the Exhibition 

Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful is co-organized by The Columbus Museum, Georgia, and The Chrysler Museum of Art.

The exhibition will provide a comprehensive overview of the artist’s long life (1891–1978) with more than 150 objects, including her rarely seen marionettes and well-known abstract paintings. The exhibition debuts at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, where it will be on view July 9-Oct. 3, 2021. It will also visit The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and The Frist Art Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, before closing at The Columbus Museum in Columbus, Georgia, in summer 2022. The exhibition is co-organized by the Chrysler Museum of Art and The Columbus Museum.

Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful will demonstrate how Thomas’ artistic practices extended to every facet of her life, from community service and teaching to gardening and dress. Unlike a traditional biography, the exhibition will be organized around multiple themes from Thomas’ life and career. These themes include the context of her Washington Color School cohort, the creative communities connected to her time at Howard University, and peers who protested museums that failed to represent women and artists of color.

This exhibition includes travel to the following institutions: