Viewing page 50 of 58

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

acquaintance of Thomas. On occasion, Jones would assist in painting the faces of Thomas's marionettes.* Their relationship would continue throughout Thomas's lifetime, especially during the decade of the 1940s when Jones and Celine Tabary (1912-1992?), an artist friend from France established "The Little Paris Studio." 

Thomas gave several marionette shows in the city at such locations as the Phillis Wheatly Y.W.C.A, the Howard University Gallery of Art, Armstrong High and the Shaw Junior High Schools. African Americans were not allowed at the National Theatre in downtown Washington-- so when puppet and marionette shows came to D.C., Thomas [[strikethrough]]would[[/strikethrough]] organized plays and programs for the minority community at other venues. Three Wishes, Alice in Wonderland, and works that she would personally script, were presented on these occasions. Through this medium, Thomas channeled her artistry in costume design, sculpture, and the theatre which satisfied her creative output. 

[[right margin]]?[[/right margin]]

Her community involvement was extended in 1943? with the establishment of the Barnett-Aden Gallery of Art. James V. Herring, who was the chairman of the Department of Art for over twenty years, and Alonzo Aden, a former student of the department an the first curator of the Howard University Gallery of Art was founded in their residence at 127 Randolph Street, N.W. with Alma Thomas as its vice-president. At a time when the fine arts were considered the exclusive property of the upper-class, the "educated" and "privileged", the creation of the Barnett-Aden Gallery certainly represented a bold step forward.*

16