Who was Thelma Johnson Streat?
- Groundbreaking American Painter, Illustrator, Designer
- Acclaimed Interpretive Dancer
- WPA Artist
- Folklorist and Educator
- Advocate for Cultural Diversity
- Racial Trailblazer
Explore Her Life and Work
Thelma Johnson Streat (1911-1959) was a ground-breaking African American painter, dancer, illustrator, and educator. Here are a few of Ms. Streat’s accomplishments:
* Worked with Mexican muralist Diego Rivera on his Pan American Unity mural in San Francisco (1939)
* First African-American woman to have a painting collected by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. (1942)
* Performed a dance recital at Buckingham Palace for the King and Queen of England. (1950)
* At age 18 years, received honorable mention in the Harmon Foundation Awards and had work exhibited at the International House in New York City. (1930)
* Started the Children’s City Art School of Hawaii to teach children the value of cultural diversity utilizing art. (1952)
* Headed the Children’s Education Project to introduce American youth to the contributions of Black Americans through a series of colorful murals. (1940s)
* She was one of the first visual artists to perform interpretive dance in front of her art, adding dimensions of motion, energy, and animation to otherwise static forms.
World personalities who have owned her work include Vincent Price, Roland Hayes, Diego Rivera, Fanny Brice, Katherine Dunham, and Paulette Goddard, etc.
— STREAT ART NEWS — !
SEE STREAT’S WORK IN PERSON!
Visit the Portland Art Museum to see Black Artists of Oregon, which captures the Black Experience unique to the Pacific Northwest and showcases 69 artists and 200+ objects. Artists included in the exhibition: Thelma Johnson Streat, Al Goldsby, Charlotte Lewis, Isaka Shamsud-Din, Ralph Chessé, Charles Tatum, Arvie Smith, Shedrich Williames, Harrison Branch, Bobby Fouther, and Carrie Mae Weems, among others. https://portlandartmuseum.org/event/black-artists-of-oregon/
Streat’s mural study was purchased for the permanent collection at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, art, history, and culture.
WATCH!
Powerful video by Emily Hamilton titled, “Thelma Johnson Streat – How to Fight Prejudice with a Paintbrush”
The History Detectives Investigate! View a feature episode on some mysterious artwork by Thelma Johnson Streat on the popular PBS television program.
FACEBOOK!
Look for us on Facebook and find out all of the latest Thelma-related happenings at THELMA ON FACEBOOK and join in the conversation.
OWN YOUR OWN STREAT!
Artwork is available from Streat’s own Johnson Collection. Contact The Thelma Johnson Streat Project for details.
READ MORE!
Seattle Times article or The Skanner article (October 2016) on Streat’s work at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).
Read about Ms. Streat in the 2010 publication “Modern Women: Women Artists at the Museum of Modern Art” (MOMA). Packing a whopping 528 pages, you can learn more about all the great modern female artists.
Thelma Johnson Streat 