Harriet Powers was once a slave in rural Georgia, but her intricate quilts make her a celebrated artist today. Her story quilts depict biblical tales and local histories. She began exhibiting them in 1886 at the Cotton States and International Expo. Now her quilts, Bible Quilt, is at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and Pictorial Quilt is at Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Existing as a slave, bearing at least nine children and being subject to a racist and sexist society, Powers seems to have remained steadfast in her faith. The function of her quilts falls in line with story quilts of contemporary artists who are using this medium to express their own steadfastness in what they believe to be significant. Contemporary artistic quilts by black women artists allow us an understanding of those things that are important to the artists like sisterhood, female empowerment, and black feminine beauty.
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