Mary Thomas (American, 1905-1959), Two Works Featuring Birds

the first titled The Welfare State, gouache with earth pigments on board, 1949, signed lower right, inscribed to verso, unframed (9 3/4 x 19 1/4 in.) (a few minor spots of flaking; some edge wear); the second is an ink on paper laid on paper, depicting birds with a nest, signed lower left, inscribed to verso, unframed (Mount 10 7/8 x 13 1/2 in.) (some toning and foxing to sheet and mount)
Mary Alice Leath Thomas was born in Hazelhurst, Georgia. In the early 1930s, she had graduated from Georgia State College for Women and was working towards her master's degree at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She was appointed assistant professor of art at the Women’s College of the University of North Carolina in Greensboro and also served as president of the North Carolina Art Teacher’s Association.

In 1940, Thomas enrolled in summer classes at the University of Chicago. Here she met Howard Thomas, who would become her second husband. The new couple moved to Athens, Georgia, where Howard Thomas was appointed professor of art at the University of Georgia. Mary Leath also taught at the university, and served as consultant for the Atlanta school system and the South Carolina Department of Education.

Mary Leath Thomas' early work were lyrical and atmospheric depictions of the southern landscape. In 1941, after viewing a retrospective of Paul Klee's work at the Museum of Modern Art, she began working a more modern style. Her work was well received and has been exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, High Museum, Georgia Museum of Art and the North Carolina Museum of Art.
From the Collection of Anne Thomas, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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