When Steffen Met Sara

Here we revel a few short stories about Sara Douglass Thomas – the founder of our museum and the love of Steffen’s life. Here we tell the short version of how they met and fell in love.

When Steffen Met Sara

It was the summer of 1933. Steffen had just moved to Atlanta, and was working out of a makeshift studio in a barn that faced 14th Street, which he called Atelier. Sara Douglass and her family lived just around the corner, and eventually the two were formally introduced by her mother. Sara said she took one look into Steffen’s piercing blue eyes and never looked back.

After a few dates, he invited her to his studio, Atelier, up the street from her house – quite a shocking thing to do in 1933! While she was there, Sara admired a sculpture of a standing nude woman. He asked if she liked it and she said, not only did she like it, she loved it. Musing was Steffen’s first gift to Sara, who ran home and placed it on her dresser.

She “got” his art!

Less than two months later Steffen asked Sara to meet him downtown, where he asked her to marry him right then. She said “Yes” and the rest is history.

Steffen Thomas, Musing, 1933, cast bronze