Josephine Powell

Josephine Powell (May 15, 1919 – January 19, 2007) was an American photographer, traveller, and a collector of Anatolian ethnographic objects and textiles.

Initially she regarded these cameras as works of art; after two years she started taking amateur photographs and developed a talent for photography.

[2] Her curiosity to learn more about the interesting things she trained her lens on led to an unexpected career as an architectural photographer.

She visited and documented Afghanistan, North Africa, Greece, Kashmir, India, Iran, Italy, Nepal, East and West Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, and Yugoslavia.

For years, she followed semi-nomadic Anatolians in her VW Caravan, documenting their daily lives, with especial attention to their manufacture of textiles.

[1] Among others, long-time friend and aide Brigitte Sommer was instrumental in helping Koç University properly digitalize Powell's collection.