Bridget R Cooks on Alma Thomas
In episode 37 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews the world-renowned art historian Bridget R Cooks on the SENSATIONAL and PIONEERING Abstract artist, ALMA THOMAS (1891\u20131978) !!!!\n\n[This episode is brought to you by Alighieri jewellery: www.alighieri.co.uk | use the code TGWA at checkout for 10% off!]\n\nAnd WOW. This is one of the most incredible and UPLIFTING life stories I have heard of an artist whose work I am completely in love with \u2013 partially\xa0for the reason that Alma Thomas did not become an artist until she was in her 70s!!!\n\nA schoolteacher from 1924\u20131960 (!), it wasn't until after retirement that Alma Thomas took up painting professionally. Enrolling in University as a senior, she quickly\xa0shot to fame and was the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney in 1972. She was a groundbreaker.\xa0\n\nKnown for her electric-like canvases, Alma Thomas transposed the way she saw the world onto the canvas through her shards of shimmering colour that represented flowers, music, science, to the first man landing on the moon and the invention of colour television. Some more muted than others, colour was Alma Thomas's lifeline:\xa0\u201cA world without colour would seem dead. Colour, for me, is life\u201d\n\nIn this episode \u2013 one of my favourites EVER, as told by Bridget so eloquently \u2013 we discuss Alma Thomas's life in great detail \u2013\xa0including a VERY sweet and personal story from Bridget; what made her choose to be an educator for nearly five decades; her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement despite not 'directly' addressing these issues in her work; her relevance today; looking at museums' role in promoting Black artists; and of course, Alma's global fame when none other than MICHELLE OBAMA acquired her work as the first Black woman artist in the White House Collection in 2015. \n\nThis is a really beautiful, uplifting SUNNY episode. And I hope you enjoy it. \n\nWORKS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE!\nIris, Tulips, Jonquils, Crocuses (1969)\nArboretum Presents White Dogwood (1972)\nMarch on Washington (1963\u20134)\nWind, Sunshine, and Flowers (1968) \nBlast Off (1970)\nLaunch Pad (1970)\nCherry Blossom Symphony (1973)\nPond Spring Awakening (1972) \nResurrection\xa0(White House \u2013 1966)\n\nFURTHER READING:\xa0\nhttps://nmwa.org/art/artists/alma-woodsey-thomas/\nhttps://studiomuseum.org/exhibition/alma-thomas\nhttps://www.whitehousehistory.org/photos/resurrection-by-alma-thomas\n\nThis episode is sponsored by Alighieri\xa0\nhttps://alighieri.co.uk/\n@alighieri_jewellery\nUse the code: TGWA for 10% off!\xa0\n\nFollow us:\nKaty Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel\nSound editing by Amber Miller (@amber_m.iller)\nArtwork by @thisisaliceskinner\nMusic by Ben Wetherfield\n\nhttps://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/