Snoopy – Early Sun Display on Earth

Alma Thomas, Snoopy--Early Sun Display on Earth, 1970, acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Vincent Melzac, 1976.140.1
Alma Thomas, Snoopy--Early Sun Display on Earth, 1970, acrylic on canvas, 49 7848 18 in. (126.8122.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Vincent Melzac, 1976.140.1

Artwork Details

Title
Snoopy – Early Sun Display on Earth
Artist
Date
1970
Dimensions
49 7848 18 in. (126.8122.1 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Vincent Melzac
Mediums
Mediums Description
acrylic on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
1976.140.1

Artwork Description

In Snoopy—Early Sun Display on Earth, Thomas’s reverence for the beauty of living things expands to a planetary scale. Captivated by astronauts’ accounts of seeing Earth from outer space, Thomas portrayed a rainbow-hued planet pulsating with light and vitality.

“Snoopy” was the nickname for the Apollo 10 lunar module, a reference to the Peanuts comic strip character (who was also a NASA mascot) and the module’s job of flying around the moon to “snoop” for a promising landing site. Thomas would likely have seen the widely circulated photograph taken from “Snoopy” as it orbited the moon. Known as Earthrise, the image shows a partly illuminated, vibrant blue Earth as it rises above the surface of the moon.


Works by this artist (3 items)

Edward Kienholz, Nancy Reddin Kienholz, Sollie 17, 1979-1980, mixed media construction, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2001.58, © 1980, Nancy Reddin Kienholz
Sollie 17
Date1979-1980
mixed media construction
Not on view
Edward Kienholz, Untitled, n.d., encaustic on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Patricia Colleen McCall, 1982.125
Untitled
Daten.d.
encaustic on fiberboard
Not on view
Edward Kienholz, Nancy Reddin Kienholz, Drawing for Sollie 17, 1980, mixed media construction, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of G & W Investments, 2001.59A-D, © 1980, Nancy Reddin Kienholz
Drawing for Sollie 17
Date1980
mixed media construction
Not on view

Exhibitions

Alma Thomas, The Eclipse, 1970, acrylic on canvas
Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas
September 15, 2023August 4, 2024
The exhibition Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas provides an intimate view of Alma Thomas’ evolving artistic practices during her most prolific period from 1959 to her death in 1978.

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Date1998
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Mark Matthews, Neofelis nebulosa (Clouded Leopard), 1998, hot glass and Graal technique, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist and family in honor of Francis M. Greenwell, 1999.21.10, © 1999, Mark Matthews
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Date1998
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