White Roses Sing and Sing

Alma Thomas, White Roses Sing and Sing, 1976, acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 1980.36.3
Copied Alma Thomas, White Roses Sing and Sing, 1976, acrylic on canvas, 72 1252 38 in. (184.1133.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 1980.36.3

Artwork Details

Title
White Roses Sing and Sing
Artist
Date
1976
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
72 1252 38 in. (184.1133.0 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of the artist
Mediums
Mediums Description
acrylic on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
  • Object — flower — rose
Object Number
1980.36.3

Artwork Description

White Roses Sing and Sing is non-representational yet strongly evocative of the natural world. Translucent pale forms float over a background of shifting green and yellow—a luminous image perhaps related to Thomas’s memories of her childhood home in Columbus, Georgia, in a neighborhood called Rose Hill. She once remarked that it “was rightly named because roses bloomed there almost the year round.” She also recalled that as a child exploring the outdoors she heard “singing [and] talking sounds in all things.”
Gallery Label
An expert colorist who became more daring and innovative with age, Thomas here departs from bright, high-keyed hues to create an all-over, mosaic-like pattern of pale forms set within a shifting array of verdant green and yellow. Her late-in-life dedication to abstraction came at a time when many other African American painters sought to engage social and racial issues through figuration and narrative. By contrast, Thomas's work was inspired by the hues and forms of nature. White Roses Sing and Sing is non-representational, emphasizing abstract color and shape, yet strongly evocative of the natural world. Thomas's observation of the flora surrounding her in Washington, DC -- from the roses in her backyard to the azalea blooms at the National Arboretum -- was a key inspiration for her art. She even suggested Wind, Sunshine, and Flowers as an apt title for a book about her life.

Exhibitions

Alma Thomas, The Eclipse, 1970, acrylic on canvas
Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas
September 15, 2023August 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.