Paige Powell is an American photojournalist and art curator. Powell worked with Andy Warhol as an associate publisher for his Interview magazine. As his close friend and confidante, she became immersed in the 1980s New York art scene. Since returning to her native Portland in the 1990s, she has split her time between working for non-profit animal-protection organizations and art projects.
Raised in Portland, Oregon, Powell studied art in Europe before moving to New York City in December 1980.[1] Powell wanted to work for either film director Woody Allen in a production role or pop artist Andy Warhol at his Interview magazine.[1] "I approached both, and was offered two jobs, but it just so happened that the one at Interview, selling advertising, started first," she said.[1] Powell was eventually promoted to an associate publisher and became a regular at Warhol's Factory whilst working as a writer and photographer.
In April 1983, Powell held an exhibition with Jean-Michel Basquiat as the main artist.[2]『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.[3] Graffiti artists Rammellzee, A-One, Lady Pink, Koor and Toxic were also included in the show.[2] Eventually, Powell began dating Basquiat that year.[3] Through their relationship, Basquiat and Warhol became close friends.[3] In August 1983, Basquiat moved into a loft that Warhol owned on Great Jones Street in NoHo and soon they began collaborating.[4]
Although Powell and Basquiat ended their romantic relationship in 1984, she remained close friends with Warhol until his death in February 1987. "We were attached like mittens," she said. "We lived eight blocks from one another, we worked together and partied together. We ate the same macrobiotic food, had the same Japanese masseuse, used the same Olympus camera and even had the same haircut for a while."[1] They had discussed adopting a child together, and Warhol wanted to work with her directly on commissioned projects.[1] At Warhol's burial, Powell placed a copy of Interview and a bottle of Estée Lauder’s Beautiful into his grave before it was covered with earth.[1]
Powell was an early adopter of camcorder technology and often filmed her friends. She forged friendships with creatives such as artist Francesco Clemente, novelist Tama Janowitz, and fashion designer Stephen Sprouse among others.[5] 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.[6][1]
After returning to Portland in the 1990s, Powell has split her time between working for non-profit animal-protection organizations and as a curator and art consultant.[1] She curated the art collection for The Nines hotel in Portland.[7] She spent two years commissioning works from forty-seven Portland artists.[8] Powell's clients also include The Lexington Hotel NYC,[9] The Baronette Renaissance Detroit-Novi Hotel,[10] JW Marriott Denver Cheery Creek, Courtyard by Marriott Portland City Center, and the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel.
Powell documented the rising careers of her friends, musician Thomas LauderdaleofPink Martini and filmmaker Gus Van Sant.[5] Lauderdale encouraged Powell to go through her archive of 1980s photographs and to start showing them to the public.[2] She had her first exhibition, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Reclining Nude, at the Suzanne Geiss Gallery in 2014.[2] Basquiat's estate opposed publishing the intimate photos, which depict Basquiat nude at Powell's apartment.[11]
Powell appeared on the Netflix The Andy Warhol Diaries (2022).
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Reclining Nude at Suzanne Geiss Company in New York, Jan 16, 2014–Feb 22, 2014.[12]
Paige Powell: The RideatPortland Art Museum in Portland, Nov 5, 2015–April 3, 2016.[5]
