This nearly square, abstract painting is filled with circles within circles, like nested rings, each of a single bright color against the ivory white of the canvas. Each ring is made up of a series of short, rectangular dashes, and some bands are narrower while others are a bit wider. The majority of the rings are crimson and brick red, and they are interspersed with bands of lapis blue, army green, and pale pink. One of two pumpkin-orange bands is the smallest, innermost ring at the center. There is one aqua-blue colored ring just inside a pale, shell-white ring, which is the first to get cropped by the edges of the canvas. A few red, green, and blue rings beyond the white band are only seen at the corners of the canvas.

Alma Thomas, Pansies in Washington, 1969, acrylic on canvas, Corcoran Collection (Gift of Vincent Melzac), 2015.19.144

Dialogues in Modern Art

Daily Tours

Thursday, January 16, 2020
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
East Building Atrium

In-person

This tour explores connections and “dialogues” between modern and contemporary works of art on view in the reinstalled East Building. Participants will look closely at selected works and have an opportunity to engage in open-ended discussion to discover multiple levels of meaning in modern paintings and sculpture.

March—May
Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday at 2:30 p.m.