Sheldon Museum of Art Main Content

Thomas, Winter

Winter Pool1966Watercolor and acrylic on paper30 × 22 1/8U-6324.1966University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Olga N. Sheldon Acquisition Trust Alma W. ThomasAlma Thomas was a leading African American abstractionist best known for her vibrantly colored, patterned paintings of the 1960s and 1970s. By the mid-to-late 1960s, Thomas had developed a signature style in which she arranged wedges of color in structured circular, horizontal, or vertical formations. Winter Pool is a prime example of the artist’s ability to fuse evocative abstraction with the natural world. Here, Thomas forms a central mosaic of rich color accentuated by large areas of black. The blue, gray-green, and yellow dabs are amplified by the white of the paper, achieving a luminous, shimmering quality that recalls the flickering reflection of light on a body of water. American 18911978Washington, DCColumbus, GA