Object Details
Artist
Alma Thomas, born Columbus, GA 1891-died Washington, DC 1978
Gallery Label
Do you see that painting? Look at it move. That's energy and I'm the one who put it there. . . . I transform energy with these old limbs of mine.
--Alma Thomas
This is the largest painting of Alma Thomas's career, created for what would be the last solo exhibition of her lifetime. Thomas painted it on three separate canvases, a format that enabled the artist to achieve ambitious scale despite her declining health and the modest size of her kitchen studio.
As the painting's title suggests, Thomas often listened to music as she worked. Here, bright red forms shimmy across the canvas as if animated by the rhythm of rock and roll.
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist
Date
1976
Object number
1980.36.2A-C
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Painting
Medium
acrylic on canvas
Dimensions
73 3/4 × 158 1/2 × 2 1/2 in. (187.3 × 402.6 × 6.4 cm)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
On View
Smithsonian American Art Museum, 3rd Floor, North Wing
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Abstract
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_1980.36.2A-C