Powers, Harriet, 1837-1910

Harriet Powers (born October 29, 1837, Clarke County, Georgia – died January 1, 1910, Clarke County, Georgia), American folk artist and quilter. Born into slavery in rural northeast Georgia, she married young and had a large family. Until the end of the American Civil War, Powers was enslaved by John and Nancy Lester in Madison County, Georgia. After 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 make quilts that expressed local legends, Bible stories, and astronomical events. Only two of her quilts are known to have survived: Bible Quilt 1886 and Pictorial Quilt 1898. Her quilts are considered among the finest examples of nineteenth-century Southern quilting.[2] Her work is on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts.