Between 1891 and 1942, Annie Powell took over 3,000 portraits, municipal and mill worker photos in Lowell, MA. She choreographed her neighbors into tableaus which can interpreted as allegorical. Using glass plate negatives, she altered copy negatives with chemicals and tools and created artistic effects like double exposures.

She was born Elizabeth Hannah Townend in 1859, second oldest of seven children in West Yorkshire, England. Throughout her life she preferred to be called “Annie.”

In 1891, she emigrated to Lowell about a hear ahead of her husband, John Powell. Family connections helped her secure municipal end souvenir book work. When her husband joined her, they established a commercial photo studio. She did had numerous clients in the municipal sector. Evidence suggests she was the principal in the business, both making photographs and handling the administrative tasks. When the studio business failed in 1906, John continued as an eyeglass fitter and she continued as a contract photographer until her early 80s.

John died in 1928, and Annie died in 1952 at age 92 . Click here to view a Powell Studio 1906 ad

There is no public record of Annie Powell as a photographer outside the studio years 1898–1906. Researchers had assumed that John Powell was the sole photographer, but we believed they worked under the same roof on different projects.

Why was her work unattributed? She may have downplayed her profession as she may have suffered a political backlash from her association with images taken for a 1912 book which was highly critical of Lowell civic and industrial leaders. More likely is the possibility she faced sexual discrimination as a professional woman. Her status as an English immigrant may have also played a role in her choice to keep her professional life in the background.

In March, 2021, former journalist, and by Annie Powell founder, Bernie Zelitch, identified her final effects in a Lowell basement and began the process of identifying Annie, and cataloging her images. Click to see a photo of Annie Powell at approximately 85 years of age.

About 75 of the photos found in the Lowell basement were of Annie and family. There were cute children images, including one that clearly reflects her style and is now in the public domain and available for purchase as wall art for prices as high as $214.

There were no letters or notes were found in her effects, but there were samples of her handwriting. This discovery expanded led to matches with handwriting found in U.S. census records and church documents. These writing samples match several thousand prints and negatives taken for the City Engineers between 1905 and 1932.

Other evidence comes from her accidental self-portraits. Annie regularly took images for City Engineers, and many of those picture feature her reflection in windows and doors.

A descendent who grew up in the same house in the early 1980s remembers glass plate negatives. These were apparently sold to an antique dealer before they were mysteriously delivered to the UMass Lowell library. In these negatives were artistically and historically important portraits of Portuguese-Americans working at Appleton Mills. In addition, facial recognition software links one of Powell’s final photos to a subject in the UMass Lowell collection.

The bulk of Annie’s collection is housed at UMass Lowell in its Proprietor of Locks and Canals archives, Portuguese-American archives, Lowell City Engineers and Lowell Housing Authority collections.

Lowell National Historical Parks owns several hundred likely Annie Powell photos in its Proprietors of Locks and Canals collection.

Other institutions holding Annie’s images in their collections are Lowell Historical Society, Harvard University, Cornell University, University of Huddersfield (England), Warren G. Harding Papers, and Lowell City Hall. Souvenir photo books of Lowell, which were popular from about 1890 to 1915, seem rife with photos matching her unique technique and style.

Finally, her descendants maintain possession of her final artifacts. Several private collectors own cabinet cards and postcards.

There is growing consensus among historians that Annie Powell is a significant artist and her work deserves further research and study.

The nonprofit, by Annie Powell, was formed to preserve her legacy and promote her work. Many of Annie’s descendants are actively involved with the organization.

Two by Annie Powell initiatives are Chasing Annie Powell/100 Posters Project and a major exhibition of Annie’s work.

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