Born: 29 October 1837, United States
Died: 1 January 1910
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Harriet Powers was an American folk artist and quilter. She was born into slavery in rural northeast Georgia, married at a young age, and had a large family. Following the American Civil War and emancipation, she and her husband became landowners by the 1880s but lost their land due to financial problems.
Powers used traditional appliqué techniques to create quilts that depicted local legends, Bible stories, and astronomical events. Only two of her quilts have survived: the Bible Quilt from 1886 and the Pictorial Quilt from 1898. These quilts are recognized as outstanding examples of nineteenth-century Southern quilting. Her work is now on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts.
The Bible Quilt from 1886 and the Pictorial Quilt of 1898 depict biblical and historical scenes, along with celestial phenomena. Both quilts are a combination of hand and machine stitching, utilizing both appliqué and piecework techniques that showcase African-American and African influences. These quilts are notable for their bold use of these techniques in storytelling.
Art historians have noticed similarities between West African appliqué wall hangings and Powers’s work. Like the appliquéd textiles of Benin, her work incorporates standardized symbols with little variation. For instance, most of the human figures, whether male or female, in the Bible Quilt, seem to follow a common pattern. Male figures are distinguished from female figures by a V-shaped cut in the skirt. Additionally, her representations of humans, animals, and objects are minimalist and capture the essence of the subject, aligning her work stylistically with that of the Fon, Asante, Fante, and Ewe cultures.