D.C. Street Where Abstract Painter Alma Thomas Lived and Worked Renamed in Her Honor

The Washington, D.C., street where 20th century painter Alma Thomas lived and created her renown abstractions was renamed “Alma Thomas Way” on Monday.

The new “Alma Thomas Way” street signs can be found on the corners of 15th and Church streets and 15th and Q streets at either end of the block.

For more than seven decades, the artist maintained a studio in the kitchen of the red brick home at 1530 15th Street, NW—a property that was originally purchased by her parents in 1907, when she was 16. Alma Thomas lived there until her death at 86 years old. The artist’s sister, J. Maurice Thomas, had the property listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Thomas (1891–1978) had a trailblazing career in the arts. In 1924, she became the first student to earn a fine arts degree from Howard University. Later, in 1943, she was named the founding vice president of one of the country’s first black-owned art galleries, Barnett-Aden Gallery. Thomas was also an educator who taught a Shaw Jr. High School for 35 years.

Her greatest contribution to art history, however, are the vibrantly colored and patterned abstractions she painted well into her career. She became the first Black woman to receive a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York in 1972, and later earned a spot in the White House’s permanent art collection.

“When we do these street renaming projects, it’s in honor of individuals, but it’s also in an effort to try to elevate and introduce local heroes to folks for the next generation,” D.C. council member Christina Henderson, who introduced the street renaming bill, told Culture Type in an interview.

The bill was initially proposed by Henderson on May 24, 2024 and was subsequently approved by all 11 presiding council members; it was signed into law by Mayor Muriel Bowser on October 24.

The street renaming was commemorated with a ceremony of roughly 30 attendees, including the artist’s grand nephew, Charles Thomas Lewis, and the founder of the Friends of Alma Thomas group, Susan Talley.

This is not the first time in recent years that Thomas was honored by her hometown, with September 12 declared a city-wide “Day of Remembrance for Alma W. Thomas” by Mayor Bowser to commemorate the artist’s 130th birthday in 2021. 

The “Alma Thomas Way” renaming marks a small victory following recent efforts by Republican lawmakers to dismantle Black Lives Matter Plaza in the city earlier this year.