Mickalene Thomas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mickalene Thomas
Thomas speaking in April 2017 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Born	(1971-01-28) January 28, 1971 (age 54) Camden, New Jersey
Nationality	American
Education	Pratt Institute, Southern Cross University, Yale University
Known for	painting, photography, collage, sculpture, printmaking, video art and installation art

Mickalene Thomas (born January 28, 1971) is a modern American visual artist. She is famous for her paintings of African-American women. Her complex artworks often use rhinestones, acrylic paint, and enamel.

Thomas gets ideas from many places. She is inspired by art movements like Impressionism, Cubism, and the Harlem Renaissance. Her art explores ideas about being a woman, beauty, race, and gender. She looks at art history and popular culture to create her unique pieces.

Early Life and Schooling

Mickalene Thomas was born on January 28, 1971, in Camden, New Jersey. She grew up in Hillside and East Orange. Her mother, Sandra "Mama Bush" Bush, was a model in the 1970s. She encouraged Mickalene's interest in art. She signed her and her brother up for art programs at the Newark Museum and the Henry Street Settlement.

As a teenager, Mickalene had a complicated relationship with her mother. Her mother faced some personal struggles. Thomas made a short film about her mother called Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman: A Portrait of My Mother.

Thomas lived in Portland, Oregon, for a while. She studied pre-law and theater. Later, she decided to focus on art. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree from the Pratt Institute in 2000. In 2002, she received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from the Yale School of Art. She now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Artistic Style and Inspiration

When Thomas started her career, she was inspired by fashion and other artists. She was influenced by artists like Jacob Lawrence, William H. Johnson, and Romare Bearden. The work of Carrie Mae Weems was especially important to her. Seeing Weems's art helped Thomas decide to become an artist.

Thomas's art often shows African-American women in powerful ways. She wants to celebrate Black femininity and power. The women in her paintings often look confident and strong. They are surrounded by colorful, decorative patterns. These patterns are inspired by things she remembers from her childhood.

Her subjects are often famous women like Eartha Kitt, Whitney Houston, and Oprah Winfrey. She even painted a portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama. It was the first individual portrait of Mrs. Obama. It was shown at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.

A New Way of Seeing

Thomas studied art history for many years. She learned about portrait, landscape, and still life painting. She was inspired by famous artists like Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Édouard Manet. She uses their classic poses and settings in her own way. This helps her give a new voice to women in art.

Thomas is known for using rhinestones in her paintings. The sparkly gems add another layer of meaning to her work. They highlight certain parts of the painting. They also make us think about what we consider beautiful or feminine. Thomas wants to make sure Black women are seen and celebrated in the art world.

The women in her paintings often look directly at the viewer. This is different from many older paintings where women were shown as passive objects. In Thomas's art, the women are in control. They seem comfortable and confident. This challenges old ideas about women in art.

Major Artworks

Le Déjeuner Sur l'Herbe: Les Trois Femmes Noires

One of Thomas's most famous paintings is Le déjeuner sur l'herbe: Les Trois Femmes Noires. The title is French for "The Luncheon on the Grass: The Three Black Women." The painting is a modern version of a famous 1863 painting by Édouard Manet.

What the Painting Looks Like

Thomas's painting shows three stylish Black women. They are wearing colorful, vintage-patterned dresses and have beautiful Afro hairstyles. Their poses are similar to the people in Manet's painting. But in Thomas's version, all three women are looking straight at the viewer with powerful gazes.

Thomas made the painting in 2010. It was her largest piece at the time, measuring 10 feet tall and 24 feet wide. She said she made it so large to "take up space" in the art world, which has often been dominated by white male artists.

How It Was Made

Thomas created the piece in three steps.

1. First, she took a photograph of three of her friends in the sculpture garden of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.
2. Next, she used the photo to create a collage.
3. Finally, she made the large painting based on the photo and collage. She used acrylic, oil, enamel, and rhinestones on wood panels.

Influences and Meaning

Manet's original painting was very controversial. It showed two women without clothes sitting with two men in suits. In Thomas's version, the women are fully clothed and look confident and in charge.

Thomas's painting pays respect to artists who inspired her, like Henri Matisse. It also draws from art movements like Dada, Cubism, and the Harlem Renaissance. The artwork has been praised for how it re-imagines a classic painting to celebrate Black women.

Portrait of an Unlikely Space

Portrait of an Unlikely Space was an exhibition Thomas helped organize at the Yale University Art Gallery. It was on display from September 2023 to January 2024. The exhibit looked like the inside of a home from before the American Civil War.

It featured early American portraits of Black men, women, and children. These small portraits were placed on walls and furniture. The exhibition mixed these historical items with art by Thomas and other modern artists. It created a powerful look at a period of U.S. history.

All About Love

In 2025, Thomas's exhibition All About Love began a tour. It started at The Broad museum in Los Angeles. It then traveled to the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, and the Hayward Gallery in London. The exhibition also traveled to Les Abattoirs, a museum in Toulouse, France.

Other Creative Projects

Besides painting, Thomas also works with photography, collage, video art, and sculpture. She has worked with the musician Solange, creating the cover art for her 2013 music release, True.

Thomas also made a short film called Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman. The film is about her mother, Sandra Bush, who was often a subject in her art. In the film, her mother talks about her life, relationships, and her battle with a serious illness. The film was shown on HBO.

Special Projects and Honors

Thomas has worked with famous brands. In 2019, she designed a unique wrap for a Rolls-Royce Phantom car. The car was auctioned to raise money for charity. In 2020 and 2023, she collaborated with the fashion house Dior, designing a jacket and the stage design for a fashion show.

Thomas has won many awards for her art. These include the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant (2009) and the Brooklyn Museum Asher B. Durand Award (2012). She has also taught and been an artist-in-residence at many prestigious art schools and programs around the world.

Notable works in public collections

Personal life

Thomas's former partner is Racquel Chevremont, who was also a collaborator and a subject in her art. Together, they started The Josie Club. It is a group that helps support and fund the work of female artists of color. Thomas and Chevremont separated in 2020.

See also

In Spanish: Mickalene Thomas para niños