Alma Thomas's 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips' Analyzed

The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC houses Alma Thomas's 1969 artwork 'Tiptoe Through the Tulips,' an acrylic-on-canvas piece measuring 127 cm by 121.92 cm. Born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1891, Thomas relocated to Washington DC in 1907. She made history in 1924 as the first Howard University graduate to receive a Bachelor of Science in Art and later taught art for 35 years before dedicating herself to painting full-time after retiring in 1959. At 75, she held her first exhibition at Howard University in 1966. In 1971, Thomas became the first Black female artist to showcase her work solo at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Her painting 'Resurrection' was featured in the White House's permanent collection in 2015. Thomas passed away in 1978.