Paige Powell

Paige Powell (born 1950) is an American photographer, curator, art consultant, and animal rights activist. After serving as public affairs director of the Portland Zoo, she moved to New York City in 1980 and later worked at Interview magazine from 1981 to 1994, rising from advertising sales to associate publisher. Through her involvement with the Factory, she became a close friend of Pop artist Andy Warhol, immersing herself in New York City's downtown art scene and documenting it through photography. Since returning to her native Portland in 1994, Powell has focused on curatorial projects and animal welfare advocacy.

Life and career

Early life and career beginnings Powell was raised Southwest Portland, Oregon, the daughter of the founding partner of a successful insurance agency. Powell volunteered at Portland Zoo, teaching chimpanzees sign language and playing with them as part of the chimpanzee enrichment program, before she became the public affairs director at the zoo. She wanted to work for either film director Woody Allen in a production role or pop artist Andy Warhol at Interview magazine.

In April 1983, Powell held an exhibition with Jean-Michel Basquiat as the main artist. "I had some friends who had an apartment in New York but they were living in Geneva, so there was basically no furniture, and I asked if I could do a show in the apartment. My boyfriend at the time was one of Andy's technical assistants and he thought I should really get Jean-Michel [for the exhibition]," she recalled. Graffiti artists Rammellzee, A-One, Lady Pink, Kool Koor, and Toxic were also included in the show.

Powell's first exhibition was presented in January 1984 at the East Village bar Beulah Land, where she filled the walls with her photographs of Warhol, Factory members, and an evolving circle of artists, musicians, and downtown nightlife figures. Powell was instrumental in launching the career of Mexican artist Julio Galán. She organized two shows for the artist in New York City. After they took the dog, he developed an intestinal ailment and was euthanized when no one volunteered to pay for an operation. Her clients also include The Lexington Hotel NYC, The Baronette Renaissance Detroit-Novi Hotel, JW Marriott Denver Cheery Creek, and the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel.

Powell was instrumental in mounting a retrospective exhibition of the work of Stephen Sprouse at Deitch Projects in 2009, via her friend curator Jeffrey Deitch.

In 2019, Powell collaborated with Gucci for a series of installations of her photographs called Beulah Land, which was named after the bar in Manhattan where Powell covered the walls in photos of her "non-biological family." It was first displayed at Gucci on Wooster Street in New York and then Dover Street Market in Ginza, Tokyo, and London. Coinciding with the installation, a three-book set was published celebrating Powell's images of culture, art, and nightlife in 1980s New York.

Claire Forlani as Gina Cardinale in the Julian Schnabel film Basquiat (1996) is a composite character of Basquiat's girlfriends, including Powell.

In 2026, Powell’s exhibition Private Andy: Religious Services was shown at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery in Los Angeles.

Exhibitions

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Reclining Nude, Suzanne Geiss Company, New York, Jan 16–Feb 22, 2014. Paige Powell: The Ride, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Nov 5, 2015–April 3, 2016. Beulah Land, Gucci Wooster in New York, April 17–May, 17 2019. Beulah Land London, Dover Street Market, London, November 6–November 21, 2019. Private Andy: Religious Services, Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, Los Angeles, February 20–April 4, 2026.