Autumn Leaves Fluttering in the Breeze

Small blocks of orange and blue spread across the canvas in an irregular, patchwork rhythm, suggesting leaves caught mid-motion in the wind. The composition favors loose structure over clear boundaries, letting the colors blend into a vibrating field rather than a fixed image. "Autumn Leaves Fluttering in the Breeze" was made in 1973 using acrylic paint, and it is held at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, having come to the collection as a bequest from the artist. Alma Thomas (1891–1978), an American painter associated with the Washington Color School, worked within the broader currents of Color Field and abstract expressionism. Looking closely, the uneven edges of each small shape give the surface a hand-built texture, as if the painting itself were assembled piece by piece like scattered foliage.