Guests gathered at the Prattville Creative Arts Center on Saturday, August 31, 2024, for the first in a series of DAC Foundation "GALLERY TALK" events.

Our "GALLERY TALK" events are designed to provide guests with up-close and personal interaction with the DAC Foundation Archives. Each of the events will feature one artist included in the current exhibition. During this event, Mark Andrew Harris showed dozens of unframed original stone lithographs and sketches and a rare serigraph by Doris Alexander Thompson, one of the featured artists in the current exhibition, "ECHOES OF THE PAST II. Harris also showed rare examples of progress prints made by the artist as part of the stone lithography process.

As part of the discussion about the labor-intensive process of creating stone lithographs, the photograph above shows eight hand-made progress prints made before the final prints were made.

Doris Alexander Thompson, Buds and Blooms, n.d., stone lithograph, 12.25 x 13.75 inches  |  Gift of the Mobile Museum of Art  |  DAT-2022.AW.0010

Doris Alexander Thompson, Path of Progress, n.d., stone lithograph, 11 x 13 inches  |  Gift of the Mobile Museum of Art  |  DAT-2022.AW.0011  |  Shown are two prints made from the same stones. Note that each print made is unique. A four-color print such as this one requires the creation of four separate stones. Each completed print runs through the press four times.

Doris Alexander Thompson, Overhead Smash, n.d., stone lithograph, 12 x 9.5 inches  |  Gift of the Mobile Museum of Art  |  DAT-2022.AW.0009

Doris Alexander Thompson, Backhand Shot, (Althea Gibson), stone lithograph, 12 x 9.5 inches  |  Gift of the Mobile Museum of Art  |  DAT-2022.AW.0012

The Story Behind Alexander's Backhand Shot:

Althea Gibson was born in Charleston County, SC, on August 25, 1927. Her parents worked as sharecroppers on a cotton farm. In 1930, her family moved to the NYC neighborhood of Harlem, where Althea's three sisters and brother were born.The neighborhood they lived in had been designated a Police Athletic League play area. During daylight hours, it was barricaded so children could safely play organized outdoor sports. Althea quickly became proficient in paddle tennis, and at the age of 12, she became the New York City women's paddle tennis champion. Fearful of her father's violent behavior, she dropped out of school at the age of 13 and spent time living in a Catholic protective shelter for abused children.

In 1940, a group of Gibson's neighbors took up a collection to finance a junior membership and lessons at the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club. At first, Althes did not like tennis. But, in 1941, she entered—and won—her first tournament. She later won her first of many ATA national championships in the girls' division in 1944.

Under the patronage of Walter Johnson—and later mentor Arthur Ashe—she gained access to more advanced instruction and more important competitions. In 1946, under the sponsorship of Hubert Eaton, she moved to Wilmington, NC. In 1949, she became the first Black woman and the second Black athlete to play in the USTA's National Indoor Championships.

In 1951, Gibson won her first international title, the Caribbean Championships in Jamaica,  and later that year, she became one of the first Black competitors at Wimbledon. In 1952, she was ranked seventh nationally by the USTA.  In the spring of 1953, she graduated from Florida A&M and took a job teaching physical education at Lincoln University. In 1955, the US State Department sent her on a goodwill tour of Asia to play exhibition matches. With the United States grappling with race, they turned to Althea for a firsthand perspective. During the six-week tour, she strengthened her confidence immeasurably. When it was over, she remained abroad, winning 16 of 18 European and Asian tournaments against many of the world's best players.

On May 27, 1956, Althea became the first African-American athlete to win a Grand Slam tournament, the French Championships singles event. Partnered with Angela Buxton, she also won the doubles title. Later in the season, Althea won the Wimbledon doubles championship and the Italian, Indian, and Asian Championships. She also reached the quarter-finals in singles at Wimbledon and the finals at the US Nationals.

In 1957, Althea was seeded first at Wimbledon. She defeated Darlene Hard in the finals for the singles title. She was the first Black champion in the tournament's 80-year history and the first to receive the trophy personally from Queen Elizabeth II. Upon her return home, Althea became the second African American, after Jesse Owens, to be honored with a ticker tape parade in New York City. She was also presented the Bronze Medallion, NYC's highest civilian award.

A month later, Althea defeated Louise Brough in straight sets to win her first US National Championship. In all, Althea reached the finals of eight Grand Slam events in 1957, winning the Wimbledon and US National singles titles, the Wimbledon and Australian doubles championships, and the US mixed doubles crown, and finishing second in the Australian singles, US doubles, and Wimbledon mixed doubles.

In 1957 and 1958, Althea was ranked number one in the world and the United States. Both years, she was named "Female Athlete of the Year" by the Associated Press, garnering over 80% of the votes in 1958. She also became the first Black woman to appear on the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time.

After defeating her in the 1957 Wimbledon women's singles championship, Darlene Hard congratulates Gibson. The pair were Wimbledon women's doubles champions the same year. Source: Wikipedia, The Detroit Tribune

Queen Elizabeth II presented Gibson with the Venus Rosewater Dish at the 1957 Wimbledon women's singles championships on July 6, 1957. Source: Wikipedia, The Detroit Tribune

Upon returning to New York City, Gibson received a ticker tape parade on July 11, 1957. Source: Wikipedia, The Detroit Tribune

Please mark your calendars for GALLERY TALK: Carlos Alpha "Shiney" Moon. Moon is also one of the artists featured in the current exhibition at the Prattville Creative Arts Center. The event will be held at 1:30 pm on Saturday, September 14, 2024, at 342 South Chestnut Street in Historic Downtown Prattville. Thank you to the CITY OF PRATTVILLE and the PRATTAUGA ART GUILD for their generous support.