For five decades from 1891–1952, Annie Powell cut a colorful figure in the streets of Lowell.

She was the floppy-hatted woman who worked well into her 80s with a bulky tripod and old-school camera. With West Yorkshire English accent, she persuaded passing children and adults to model for her in beautifully choreographed scenes. She spent hours manually editing large glass plate negatives into art for about 15¢ an image.

She died at 92 in 1952, never advertising or signing her work. She lies in an unmarked grave a few steps away from the final resting place of fellow Lowell citizen, Jack Kerouac. Recent discoveries with forensic and compositional analysis show her to be the likely author over 2,500 photographs housed in Cornell, England, Harvard University, and locally at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in her adopted city.

A preponderance of evidence suggests the woman pictured above is Annie Powell. Taken in 1294 on Palmer Street, Annie would have been 65 years old at the time. It is possible that the object the woman is holding is a long pneumatic tube shutter release. See inset image of the woman’s right hand which seems to be cupping an object. (Image courtesy of UML)

Slideshows

Below are links to two slideshows of Annie’s work. One discusses the mystery that started the investigation. The other uncovers evidence she was the anonymous photographer of thousands of Lowell street scenes.