Alma Woodsey Thomas was born on September 22, 1891, in Columbus, Georgia, was the eldest of four daughters of John Maurice Harris, a teacher, and Amelia (Cantey) Thomas. In her youth, she displayed a passion for nature and the outdoors and she enjoyed molding teacups and other pottery from Georgia's abundant red clay.
The Thomas family remained in Georgia until a period of racial riots in the fall of 1906. Unnerved by the violence, Thomas's parents took the family to Washington, DC, arriving on July 31, 1907, after traveling by train from Georgia.
Two years later, in 1915, Alma Thomas moved to Wilmington, Delaware, to the settlement house of Thomas Garrett. There she lived and worked in the community-run school for resident children, teaching arts and crafts. She has also devoted her time to making costumes for various school productions and community art productions.
Alma Thomas in her signature 60s/70s style employs an abundance of square streaks of acrylic color that flow around the canvas. Aerial views and bird's eye representations of trees, leaves, rivers and streams characterize this period. THE primary colors emerge from muted backgrounds, as in his 1969 “Azaleas.” Also during these years he produced his Earth and Space series, including “Light Blue Nursery” and “The Eclipse,” in 1968 and 1970 respectively. He died in 1978.
In recent years, the work of Alma Thomas is having a different interest than just ten years ago, when her works had estimates from just over 5 euros to a few tens of thousands. Only in 2017 does it begin to exceed 100 dollars (with post-war works) by forcefully entering the international market
Christie's New York on March 5, 2020 will present the 1968 work (photo above) entitled “Flash of Spring” with an auction estimate of 450,000 – 650,000 USD. It will be interesting to understand with what value it will be awarded. Definitely a work that will compete beautifully with any other work of contemporary art.
Investment value ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
How much is his work worth?
Some of his latest awards:
A Fantastic Sunset, 1970 – Acrylic/canvas (121,9 x 121,9 cm)
Clearing price: €1.999.899 ($2.200.000) Price including charges: €2.413.514 ($2.655.000) Estimate: €1.999.899 – €2.545.326 ($2.200.000 – $2.800.000 ) Christie's , 13/11/2019New York, United States.
Signed Dated Inscribed '”A Fantastic Sunset” Alma W. Thomas 70' / versoOrigin: Private Collection, Philadelphia. Acquired from the above by the present owner. Exposure: Washington, DC, The Art Barn, First Invitational Exhibit, May 1971. Baltimore, Morgan State College Gallery of Art, Black Matri-Images: A Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings by Laura Wheeler Waring and Paintings and Prints by Elizabeth Catlett, Lois Jones, Alma W. Thomas, December 1972-January 1973, np, no. 70. Washington, DC, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, CONVERSATIONS: African and African American Artworks in Dialogue from the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and the Camille O. and William H. Cosby Collections, November 2014-January 2016, p. 208, pl. 120 (illustrated in color).
"Azaleas”, 1969 – Acrylic/canvas (59,7 x 80 cm)
Clearing price: €537.390 ($600.000) Price including charges: €662.781 ($740.000) Estimate: €358.260 – €537.390 ($400.000 – $600.000 ) Sotheby's, 17/05/2019New York, United States
Signed dated -69Origin: Private Collection, Washington, DC (gift of the artist); Thence by descent to the present ownerExposure: Columbus Museum, 2000.
“Sign of Spring”, 1966 – Oil/canvas (66 x 45,7 cm).
Clearing price: €161.101 ($190.000) Price including charges: €201.376 ($237.500) Estimate: €50.874 – €67.832 ($60.000 – $80.000 ) Sotheby's, 17/11/2017New York, United States
Signed dated -66Origin: Collection of Harold Hart, New York (acquired directly from the artist); Acquired from the above by the present owner.
Spring Flowers in Washington DC, 1969 – Oil/canvas (62 x 62 cm).
Clearing price: €293.570 ($310.000) Price including charges: €366.962 ($387.500) Estimate: €118.375 – €165.725 ($125.000 – $175.000 ) Blade, 05/03/2017Van Nuys CA, United States
Signed dated lower right Notes: + letter from the artist dated October 24, 1969Origin: Private Collection, Pasadena, California (acquired directly from the artist, 1969); Then by descent
