The Intersection of Art and Life: The Teaching Career of Alma W. Thomas

• In Event: Eisner in Culturally Relevant Education

Abstract

Alma W. Thomas was an abstract artist and a public-school teacher, serving Washington, DC public schools for over 35 years. Thomas had two professional ways of knowing art, first as an art teacher and later as a successful abstract artist. Today her work hangs in some of the most prestigious art museums of the world. However, very little attention has been given to the way her artistic philosophy influenced her teaching. The purpose of this research is to investigate the ways Thomas expressed similar themes through her art and her pedagogy. Archival research was conducted by studying her personal papers (held at the Smithsonian American Art Museum) and historic employment records (held at the Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives).

Author

• Jennifer Bartee, University of the District of Columbia