Ellen Powell Tiberino

Ellen Powell Tiberino (1937 – February 28, 1992) was an performer who infused works in the symbolic tradition in imitation of an African American spirit. Themes to which she frequently returned in her pretense include African American cartoon and history, and portrayals of girls and women in simulation situations such as pregnancy and motherhood. She exhibited widely in both Philadelphia and New York. Her drawings and paintings are held the Philadelphia Museum of Art, among others. Museum director Anne d'Harnoncourt particularly admired Powell Tiberino's exploit to convey environment and her use of line, describing it as "alive and forceful". Powell Tiberino has been acclaimed as Philadelphia's "premier African-American girl artist".