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Mulatto and Child, as the hair cascades over the shoulders and the head looks upward.  Untitled (Still Life), 1923, however, reflects her interest in absorbing the lessons evident in a staged composition, and the challenges inherent in the still life:  space, drapery, reflections, flowers in a vase, and a plaster cast head.  Simplistic in its rendering, it is an incipient student work created during the formal exercise of a classroom environment.  Thomas transforms the classical Greek features of the head into a quasi-African appearance.  The question that begs to be asked, however, is -- was this head actually used in the still life, or did the young artist impose the features on the standardized cast?

With Herring and Jackson as the principal instructors between 1921 and 1924, academic realism was at the core of instruction.37  The 1923 [[underline]] Bison Yearbook [[/underline]] represents the skill and caliber of students matriculating during the academic year 1922-1923 in the fledgling Department of Art.  Eight students, including Thomas, rendered the many designs and sketches that enhanced the layout of an otherwise pedantic assemblage of individual and group photographs and statistical reportage.  Thomas created four pen and ink drawings for the frontispiece, the introduction of the law school section, the extracurricular activities and sororities. Each drawing exhibits a refined sensibility and dexterity.

With successful completion of the curriculum, Alma Thomas graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree in Fine Arts in 1924, becoming the first

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