Smith College Museum of Art
July 24, 2026 – January 10, 2027
Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas from the Smithsonian American Art Museum is on view at the Smith College Museum of Art from July 24 - January 10, 2026.
Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas from the Smithsonian American Art Museum features works from the world’s largest public collection of the artist’s paintings and offers an intimate view of Thomas’s evolving practice during her most productive years, from 1959 to 1978. At a deeply politicized moment in American history, Thomas made a deliberate choice. As she put it, “Through color I have sought to concentrate on beauty and happiness, rather than on man’s inhumanity to man.” Organized around three themes that preoccupied her—Space, Earth, and Music—the exhibition invites visitors to experience the world as Thomas did: through luminous fields of color that evoke sound, motion, temperature, and even scent.
Smith College Museum of Art
20 Elm Street at Bedford Terrace
Northampton, MA 01063