Held in the same private collection since 1978, Snoopy Sees Sunrise on Earth (1970) is one of Alma Thomas’ most celebrated Space Paintings—and the first time in nearly five decades that this radiant canvas will be seen publicly. Created at the height of America’s fascination with NASA and the Apollo missions, the work channels the awe of images like Apollo 8’s Earthrise into Thomas’ unmistakable mosaic of vertical brushstrokes. With only around 18 known works in the Space series, most held in major museum collections, this painting stands among the defining achievements of her career.
Yet the optimism of the space race unfolded alongside profound social unrest at home. As the nation celebrated scientific triumphs, the Civil Rights Movement and protests against racial injustice reshaped American life. Thomas—who became the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1972—turned to the cosmos as both refuge and statement. Through luminous color and rhythmic “Alma stripes,” she painted what she called “the beauty of the world instead of man’s suffering,” transforming abstraction into a deeply personal and quietly political act.
