William Henry Powell (February 14, 1823 – October 6, 1879), was an American artist who was born and died in New York City.

Powell has a second piece of artwork displayed in the United States Capitol Rotunda, the Discovery of the Mississippi by De Soto A.D. 1541.

[1] Powell selected the discovery of the Mississippi River by Hernando de Soto as the subject of the painting and completed it in 1853.

Its positive reception nationwide lead to the Ohio legislature requesting that Powell paint Oliver Hazard Perry's victory in the War of 1812.

The painting that emerged was created in a temporary studio in Washington, D.C. and larger than the original in Ohio.