Powell studied at Cooper Union in New York, and gained early success from her work for the Federal Art Project, including murals she painted at Harlem Hospital that still stand today. Powell was a practicing art therapist for much of her life, and her own artwork has recently garnered renewed attention. At age seventeen, she created this striking composition of a poised young woman in profile against the orb of a full moon. The figure is surrounded by abstracted foliage and fruits that echo her jewelry and pendant earring. Here, the subject’s African heritage becomes a central component in Powell’s vision of modernism.
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Inscription: Signed (in pencil, lower left): G Seabrooke; inscribed (lower right): LINOLEUM BLOCK PRINT
[Sragow Gallery, New York, until 1991; sold on October 1, 1991 to Williams]; Reba and Dave Williams, New York (1991–99; their gift to MMA)
Newark Museum, held jointly at the Equitable Gallery, New York. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," December 10, 1992–February 28, 1993, no. 72 (as "Young Girl of African Descent").
Long Beach Museum of Art. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," June 4–August 8, 1993, no. 72.
Cambridge, England. Fitzwilliam Museum. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," October 5–December 19, 1993, no. 72.
Albany. New York State Museum. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," January 5–March 13, 1994, no. 72.
New Haven. Yale University Art Gallery. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," April 7–June 12, 1994, no. 72.
Louisville. Speed Art Museum. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," July 12–September 4, 1994, no. 72.
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," October 9–December 4, 1994, no. 72.
Baltimore Museum of Art. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," January 4–February 26, 1995, no. 72.
Charleston. Gibbes Museum of Art. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," March 26–May 21, 1995, no. 72.
Miami Beach. Bass Museum of Art. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," June 18–August 13, 1995, no. 72.
Little Rock. Arkansas Arts Center. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," September 10–November 5, 1995, no. 72.
Mobile, Ala. Fine Arts Museum of the South. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," December 3, 1995–January 28, 1996, no. 72.
Brooklyn Museum. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," February 25–April 22, 1996, no. 72.
Art Institute of Chicago. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," May 17–July 14, 1996, no. 72.
Dallas Museum of Art. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," August 9–October 6, 1996, no. 72.
Saint Louis Art Museum. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," November 1, 1996–January 2, 1997, no. 72.
Atlanta. High Museum of Art. "Alone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–1940s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams," January 31–March 30, 1997, no. 72.
Deirdre L. Bibby. Augusta Savage and the Art Schools of Harlem. Exh. cat., Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. New York, 1988, p. 24, no. 64 (Schomberg Center, Arts & Artifacts Collection), calls it "Woman in Profile" and dates it ca. 1930.
Reba and Dave Williams inAlone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–40s by African-American Artists; From the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams. Exh. cat., Newark Museum. New York, 1993, pp. 24, 54, no. 72.
Lowery Stokes Sims inAlone in a Crowd: Prints of the 1930s–40s by African-American Artists; From the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams. Exh. cat., Newark Museum. New York, 1993, p. 5.
Jacqueline Francis. "Powell, Georgette." St. James Guide to Black Artists. Ed. Thomas Riggs. Detroit, 1997, p. 434, calls it "Young Girl of African Descent".
Victor N. Smythe. Black New York Artists of the 20th Century: Selections from the Schomburg Center Collections. Exh. cat., Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. New York, 1998, p. 92, ill. p. 31 (not this edition), calls it "Woman in Profile" and dates it 1930.
William Henry Johnson (American, Florence, South Carolina 1901–1970 Central Islip, New York)
ca. 1940
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