I have a lot of notes on my phone and in my planner. Some of them are just one line, a random thought, or a memory. Other times, it’s a reminder to look up information about something when I have the time. Occasionally, it’s a more in-depth idea or a beginning to a piece of writing.
For 9 months, I’ve had a note in my phone that just says “Alma Thomas – retired teacher, painting in her 70s.” With March being Women’s History Month, it feels fitting to share with you what I’ve learned about Miss Alma Thomas.
I’ve talked before about how, no matter the dreams you have for your life, you’re not too late. There’s no such thing as being too late to your life.
Alma Thomas is a perfect example of this idea.
A Little About Alma Thomas
Alma was born in September 1891 in Columbus, GA. She was the oldest of four children. At age 15, her parents and family relocated to Washington DC. She would live and work there for the rest of her life.
Alma graduated from Howard University as the school’s first Fine Arts graduate. She would teach art to junior high students for 35 years.
Having a regular 9-5 job didn’t keep Alma from pursuing her dreams. She earned an MA in Art Education from Columbia in 1934. By this time, she was in her early 40s.
The Smithsonian American Art Museum notes that Alma was also “instrumental in the 1943 formation of the cutting-edge Barnett Aden Gallery, among the first Black-owned galleries in the United States.” As a lifelong student, she continued her studies at American University throughout the 1950s.
Despite her teaching career, or maybe because of it, Alma kept painting.
After she retired from teaching in 1960, Alma began to paint full-time. She was 69 years old.
In 1972, at age 81, she became the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Alma exhibited her paintings at the White House three times. Thirty-seven years after her death, she became the first Black woman to have art in the White House’s permanent collection.
Forget the Timeline
Looking back on her life, Alma didn’t seem to pay much attention to where she was on the “timeline of society”. She wasn’t concerned with meeting certain milestones by a particular age. Instead, she kept moving forward, putting one foot in front of the other. And the last quarter of her life was where she had the most growth and change.
If Alma had thought she was too old, or too far behind, to do something, we might never have been graced with these beautiful paintings.
Growing up, I had a checklist for my life. I wanted to be married in my twenties (technically, I made that one, but just barely). I wanted to have kids early and be done by my mid-thirties. Instead, I had my first kid at 35 (and another at 37).
I thought I’d spend my 20s living my best life. I grew up wanting to travel, but as it turns out, I wasn’t quite able to move to a new city or new country on my own. Not at that age, at least. When I finally moved to another country, I was in my third decade. I felt old.
The Best is Yet to Come
But if I look at Alma’s timeline, I can remind myself that I’m not too old. I’m not too old to pursue a dream. It’s never too late to learn something new.
Another thing I love about Alma’s life is that we can watch her style evolve. Alma was not afraid to play, to learn, to make mistakes. She was a painter, so we have the pleasure of watching her try new things.
Her early paintings don’t look like her eventual signature style. Although she started more representational, Alma settled on an abstract style. Instead of how things looked, she focused on how they made her feel and on the colors she saw.
As a writer, I can go back to my earlier writings and see how my ideas have changed. How I express myself is different. What a glorious thing – to get to look back and see our change happening right before our eyes.
You are not stuck. You are not behind. We are allowed to change and evolve. Lord willing, we all live long enough to get to see and celebrate that change.
So often, we base our satisfaction with life, our happiness, on whether we are where we think we should be. Rarely are we where we think we should be when we want to be.
But don’t let that deter you. Don’t let a made-up timeline keep you from pursuing your dreams, from stepping fully into the life you want to lead.
We all only have so long on this earth. None of us knows how long that is. Why spend any more time than necessary living a life that wasn’t meant for you? There is space for all of us.
There’s a desire in your heart for a reason. Maybe it’s time to go exploring. Remember, the best may be yet to come.
Links to learn more about Alma
Want to learn more about Alma Thomas. Check out these links:
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- The Dig at Howard University
- White House History
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- National Gallery of Art
- National Museum of Women in the Arts
- The Johnson Collection
- The Phillips Collection – This one is especially cool. About a quarter of the way down (the area with a kind of teal green background) is an interactive walkthrough of the Alma Thomas exhibition at the Phillips Collection. It’s from 2022 and it. is. so. good.
