Museum

Steffen Thomas Museum of Art Mission Statement

Steffen Thomas Museum of Art provides an opportunity to engage, to learn, and to be inspired through Steffen's life, art, and legacy.

STMA is dedicated to preserving and exhibiting the work of Master Artist Steffen Thomas and to providing art education programs for children and adults in rural Northeast and Middle Georgia. Steffen Thomas’s philosophy of the Brotherhood of Man – that we are a family of universal commonalities and that arts education is integral to a vibrant and connected community – informs all we do. 

History of the Steffen Thomas Museum of Art

When Steffen Thomas passed away in 1990, he left his wife, Sara Douglass Thomas, and their four children the summation of a prolific artistic career.  In 1992, Sara established Steffen Thomas Art Representatives, LP (STAR) to handle the estate. This Partnership included Sara and her four children: Steffen Thomas, Jr., Robin Thomas Burnett, Douglass Thomas, and Lisa Thomas Conner. 

Nurturing a vision of a museum dedicated to the preservation of her husband’s art, Sara wanted to turn the Thomas studio-home in Midtown Atlanta into a studio museum.  After this was found to be impossible because of zoning and infrastructure issues, the Thomas family decided to build on rural Morgan County land owned by Steffen Jr.  In 1995, Sara used the bulk of her life savings to build a 13,000 square foot facility, which she called the Steffen Thomas Museum & Archives. The Museum, one of a handful of single-artist museums in the US, opened to the public in 1997.  Sara also saw the importance of preserving a very large archive covering her husband’s 60-year career. The Museum Archives include Thomas’s person papers, journals, letters, catalogs, magazine and news articles, as well as audio-visual material, which later became a vital resource for the 2023 creation of a documentary film by Jesse Stephen Freeman, Steffen Thomas: Rock & Chisel. 

To perpetuate Sara’s dream, as well as to preserve and exhibit the art for the education of future generations, a group of friends, collectors, art enthusiasts, and members of the local community came together to create a nonprofit organization. In 1996 with the blessings of Sara and her four children, Andrew Hayes, Hathia Hayes, and Mary Nell McLauchlin established Steffen Thomas Museum and Archives, Inc. as a nonprofit corporation with a primary purpose of protecting the art and making it available to the public. Awarded 501(c)(3) nonprofit status by IRS, the new organization came to be known as Steffen Thomas Museum of Art (STMA). Serving as the founding officers of the new organization, these three people established a Board of Directors, who developed a plan for creating community based educational programming inspired by the life and art of Steffen Thomas. The Board assumed responsibility for the Museum and a significant Permanent Collection of Steffen Thomas art donated by the family.  Their goal was to create a way for the legacy of the art to be available to the public for years to come. In addition, many major works by Steffen Thomas still owned by STAR were put on long-term loan to STMA for display in the Museum. STMA’s Permanent Collection has since grown to over 800 works, as a result of bequests and donations from collectors. This collection and will soon be available for viewing through the Museum website, www.steffenthomas.org. 

The Steffen Thomas Brotherhood of Mankind Philosophy

Steffen Thomas believed in a philosophy called the Brotherhood of Mankind: that we are a family of universal commonalities and that arts education is integral to a vibrant and connected community. It is a persistent theme found in his art across several decades. After giving up public art to focus on creative work in 1963, he built a Monument to the Brotherhood of Man at his Stone Mountain studio, carving in its wall his credo:
 
“This World is Too Small for Less than Brotherhood – Too Dangerous for Less than Truth.”

The Steffen Thomas Museum of Art believes ‘Art is for Everyone’ and aspires to reach people from all walks of life. The Museum offers art education programs for people of all ages at a minimum or no cost to participants. The Board and staff seek to engage the community, children through seniors, in Morgan County, our neighboring rural counties, and beyond. Through exhibitions and programs, STMA demonstrates creative artistic expression and fosters an understanding of ourselves and our connection with community, the environment and other living beings. We believe Art provides a foundation that opens up a new world and the creative process enables youth to see a future where they can create a better world for themselves and for their communities.

When Morgan County’s iconic champion of the cultural arts, Chris Lambert, was asked to make a statement about the Steffen Thomas Museum of Art, this is what she said:

 

Note: No works from the STMA Permanent Collection are for sale. 

Proceeds from SteffenThomasArt.com sales benefit STMA. A percentage of all sales is donated to STMA, in support of the nonprofit’s operating expenses.

Please visit steffenthomas.org