Abraham Thomas is The Fleur and Charles Bresler Curator-In-Charge for the Renwick Gallery, the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s branch for contemporary craft and decorative art. He is responsible for overseeing acquisitions, exhibitions, research, publications, patron relations, and Renwick gallery staff. Thomas joined the museum in October 2016.Prior to coming to the Renwick, Thomas served as director of the Sir John Soane’s Museum in London from 2013 to 2015. He was responsible for creating a new program of contemporary art and design commissions that responded to the Sir John Soane’s Museum’s historic collections and noted architectural spaces. He also oversaw the restoration of the museum’s collections spaces and displays.
From 2006 to 2013, Thomas was curator of designs at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London where he also helped establish contemporary programs and exhibitions such as “Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary” (2012) and “1:1 – Architects Build Small Spaces” (2010). He also served as curator for the forthcoming exhibition “High-Tech: Design in a Post-Industrial Age” (2018), which will open at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in the U.K. before touring internationally. Thomas has published and lectured extensively; his work focuses on architecture, decorative arts, graphic design, photography and fashion. Thomas earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Leicester in 2000.
