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Alma Thomas, Snoopy--Early Sun Display on Earth, 1970, acrylic on canvas, 49 7⁄8 x 48 1⁄8 in. (126.8 x 122.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Vincent Melzac, 1976.140.1
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Snoopy – Early Sun Display on Earth
- Artist
- Date
- 1970
- Location
- Dimensions
- 49 7⁄8 x 48 1⁄8 in. (126.8 x 122.1 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Vincent Melzac
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- acrylic on canvas
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Abstract
- Object Number
- 1976.140.1
Artwork Description
In Snoopy—Early Sun Display on Earth, Thomas’s reverence for the beauty of living things expands to a planetary scale. Captivated by astronauts’ accounts of seeing Earth from outer space, Thomas portrayed a rainbow-hued planet pulsating with light and vitality.
“Snoopy” was the nickname for the Apollo 8 lunar module, a reference to the Peanuts comic strip character (who was also a NASA mascot) and the module’s job of flying around the moon to “snoop” for a promising landing site. Thomas would likely have seen the widely circulated photograph taken from “Snoopy” as it orbited the moon. Known as Earthrise, the image shows a partly illuminated, vibrant blue Earth as it rises above the surface of the moon.
Exhibitions
September 15, 2023–August 4, 2024
The exhibition Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas provides an intimate view of Alma Thomas’ evolving artistic practices during her most prolific period from 1959 to her death in 1978.