I learned that art is not just something you acquire when you reach a certain station in life - it is a matter of cultural and creative expression. Art is something that everyone can appreciate regardless of class and educational background. It can enrich all of our lives - my mission is to make visual art accessible to a much broader audience - you don’t have to be wealthy, a scholar or even a collector. ” Jerry Thomas, 1997

Jerry Thomas Jr., Esq. is an art dealer and consultant for original investment quality African and African American art. He has been featured in network broadcast television and written media. In addition to giving presentations to the National Black MBA Association Annual Conference on investing and collecting African American art in 2005; he was quoted in the Los Angeles Times in 2005; and in 2006 Thomas was quoted in BusinessWeek Magazine and the London Stock Exchange regarding the investment potential of significant African American art.
 
As a practicing attorney, he handled cases involving nationally renowned collector/dealers and art institutions. As a result of this involvement, his life-long interest in African American and African art was transformed into a passion for the scholarly, business-professional and investment aspects of the visual arts.

Thomas emphasizes collecting artistically important and culturally significant art. His challenge is to get patrons of the visual arts, whether they have a single work of art or large collections, to focus on cultural and historical significance; as well as the artistic elements of expression, technique and creativity. “Art is a way of thinking and expression. The way an artist interprets her environment and what she seeks to express is almost necessarily a function of the artist’s individual experiences which in turn is a derived from the culture or cultures from which the artist belongs or has been exposed".

Thomas regularly consults with individuals and organizations on matters relating to artistic, cultural and investment aspects of art. 

“My focus on the visual arts sensitized me to the fact that art is really a visual metaphor for what artists see feel, or think about matters with cultural and/or intellectual significance. Through painting and other art forms, you can find profound statements and observations that far exceed what one might expect if formal education were used as a gauge. Personally, I look for the level and creativity of expression, visual impact and the extent to which it elicits a response from the viewer.”

Jerry Thomas advocates a holistic approach to art. “If you engage art with your physical sight and do not involve other faculties to understand and feel what the artist is saying, then you will likely miss much of what the art is about. By using your mind and soul, as well as your sight, you can transcend the physical representations and truly experience the art.”