Ellen Powell Tiberino

Ellen Powell was born in Philadelphia in 1937 to William and Queenie Powell, sharecroppers who had moved to Philadelphia from Cape Charles, Virginia, just weeks before she was born. Her father brought his family north seeking better opportunities for his children. "We were looking for the same things as the European immigrants," Ellen said in a 1989 interview. Her father was a truckman for the railroad and her mother was a homemaker. She was the third of seven children who grew up in the Mantua section of West Philadelphia.{{Cite web |title=William Powell |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9MY-SJZQ?i=8&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AKQZL-VY1 |url-access=registration |access-date=December 28, 2022 |website=FamilySearch}}{{Cite news |last=Clarke |first=Sabina Lawlor |date=March 17, 1989 |title=An artist speaks her mind |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=5D |id={{ProQuest|532987728}}}}{{Cite news |last=Fabbri |first=Anne R. |date=January 4, 2000 |title=Final masterpiece: Tiberino home becomes a portrait of the artist |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/182643751/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=Philadelphia Daily News |pages=34 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |last=Sozanski |first=Edward J. |date=October 3, 1999 |title=House of Art: Ellen Powell Tiberino, Who Died in 1992, Was a Major Talent with Paintbrush and Pencil. Which is Why Family and Friends Have Turned the Powelton Village House She Lived and Worked in into a Museum |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/179366353 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=I.1 |via=Newspapers.com |id={{ProQuest|1843887068}}}}

As a child, she drew pictures of family and friends. She also listened closely to tales of her family from such people as her great-aunt Lita who inspired her portraits and line drawings. Her parents told her that she could accomplish anything that she wanted. They were Baptists, but Ellen converted to Catholicism around age 13.{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Alexis |date=November 13, 1988 |title=An artist battles time |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/169301862 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=K1 |via=Newspapers.com |id={{ProQuest|1833080535}}}}{{Cite news |last=Fleischman |first=Jeffrey |date=March 1, 1992 |title=Ellen Powell-Tiberino, prominent painter and sculptor in Phila. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/176343256/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Her talent for art was acknowledged in junior and senior high school. At Sulzberger Junior High, she received a "small" check as an award for an original poster in a health contest.{{Cite news |date=December 27, 1952 |title=Public school programs: William Penn High School |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=4 |id={{ProQuest|532054336}}}} While a senior at Overbrook High in 1955, she returned to Sulzberger to speak to students about training courses available in senior high school. She brought along some of her paintings and collages, which featured fabric and materials on watercolor. She graduated from Overbrook in 1956.{{Cite news |date=December 6, 1955 |title=Sulzberger program cites fundamental of training |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=16 |id={{ProQuest|532115352}}}}{{Cite news |date=May 23, 1959 |title=Art grant winner to study in Europe |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=7 |id={{ProQuest|532152996}}}} As a teenager, she worked as a nurse's aide at Wills Eye Hospital.{{Cite news |last=Clarke |first=Sabina Lawlor |date=March 13, 1992 |title=Artist Ellen Powell Tiberino: She left her mark on many |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=10D |id={{ProQuest|533050337}}}}

Tiberino received a City of Philadelphia scholarship to attend the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) and arrived there in 1956. She received honors for her work but faced resistance from some faculty and staffers, she said in a 1988 interview. They resented her awards "or (her) just being there. But I don't like to put things on the basis of color, or sex. People who have problems like that – they stem from their own insecurity," she said. Tiberino had been preceded at PAFA by a handful of Black students in the 20th century - Laura Wheeler Waring, Morris Blackburn, Raymond Saunders and Louis B. Sloan. In the mid-19th century, John Henry Smythe (Smyth) was the first Black student to be admitted to the academy.{{Cite web |title=Notable Black American Men, Book II - John H. Smyth 1844-1908 |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/african-american-focus/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/smyth-john-h |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118023901/https://www.encyclopedia.com/african-american-focus/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/smyth-john-h |archive-date=January 18, 2023 |access-date=December 28, 2022 |website=Encyclopedia.com}}

Artist Moe Brooker, also a PAFA graduate, recalled her presence at the academy. He was "dazzled" by her, he said in the catalog for Woodmere Art Museum's 2015 exhibit "We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia, 1920s-1970s." "When she walked down the hall, everyone stopped! ... She was the first student of color I remember when I was at PAFA because I was a couple years behind her."{{Cite book |last=Valerio |first=William R. |title=We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia, 1920s-1970s |publisher=Woodmere Art Museum |year=2015 |isbn=9781888008005 |location=Philadelphia |language=en |oclc=922939460}}

Tiberino was awarded the prestigious Cresson Traveling Scholarship in 1959 and traveled through Europe. She was 19 years old and in her third year at PAFA. She told the Philadelphia Tribune newspaper that she planned to go to Spain; France; Naples, Italy, and other countries. She was the second African American woman to win the Cresson; the other was Laura Wheeler Waring (1914). Louis B. Sloan and Raymond Saunders also had been winners.

While at PAFA, Tiberino studied under Franklin C. Watkins, Hobson Pittman and Walter Stuempfig. She graduated in 1961 and moved to New York.{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Kendall |date=February 7, 1992 |title=Tiberino on view |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=8A |id={{ProQuest|533061075}}}} She remained in that city for six years, returning to Philadelphia to marry Joseph Tiberino, whom she had met at a going-away party for her NY move back in 1961. He was a white Italian-American artist born in Philadelphia who was attending the Philadelphia College of Art. They got married in 1967.

Some of her friends tried to talk her out of marrying him, telling her that it would ruin her art and impede her growth. It enhanced her growth, she said in a 1989 interview, because he was supportive of her work. His being of another race didn't bother her, she said, noting that the color of his skin was the least important thing to her. Compatibility was more significant, she said.

Tiberino named two of her sons after her favorite 15th-century Italian Renaissance painters: Raphael and Leonardo. Joseph named their daughter after Ellen.{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Kendall |date=March 3, 1992 |title=Artist Ellen Tiberino dies after lengthy illness |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=1A |id={{ProQuest|533055057}}}} The couple had a third son, Gabriel.{{Cite book |last1=Golden |first1=Jane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D1cLmp3rEqIC&dq=gabriele+tiberino+artist&pg=PA80 |title=More Philadelphia Murals and the Stories They Tell |last2=Rice |first2=Robin |last3=Pompilio |first3=Natalie |date= |publisher=Temple University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9781592135271 |location=Philadelphia |pages=80–81 |language=en |oclc=70258927 |access-date=2022-12-28 |via=Google Books}}

Tiberino was one of Philadelphia's most notable artists, a "major talent with a paintbrush or a pencil", wrote a Philadelphia Inquirer art critic in 1999. Her works were not delicate, the critic noted, but were infused with empathy and tenderness. Another critic described her art as tumultuous and staccato, with menacing and shadowy figures. It was purposefully meant to disturb, the critic stated.{{Cite news |last=Donohoe |first=Victoria |date=April 8, 1977 |title=Pictures meant to disturb |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/172284381/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=15 |via=Newspapers.com}}

She was a figurative, stylized expressionistic artist who produced oils, pastels, pencil drawings and bas-relief sculptures. She also produced prints of some of her works. Among her subjects were young girls becoming aware of their bodies, Black women in pregnancy and motherhood, neighborhood people expressing joy and sorrow, African American life and strife, and her Catholic faith. She chose her subjects from her experiences - stories she heard, photographs she saw and people she observed. Some were people on West Philadelphia street corners, inside New York speakeasies, participating in Sunday High Mass and Baptist funerals.{{Cite news |last=Goodman |first=Sharon L. |date=October 18, 1987 |title=Controversial artist presents 'Another Plane' exhibition |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=4C |id={{ProQuest|532933746}}}}{{Cite news |last=De La Vina |first=Mark |date=May 20, 1992 |title=The Art of Living: Ellen Powell Tiberino's work helped her battle death |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/184440913 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=Philadelphia Daily News |pages=36 |via=Newspapers.com |id={{ProQuest|1842545123}}}}{{Cite news |date=April 2, 1977 |title=Retrospective Exhibition at Afro-American Museum |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=13 |id={{ProQuest|532705337}}}}

Her husband Joseph noted that her earliest paintings were dark in tone, so much so that her subjects were barely distinguishable. She painted what she felt and observed, she once said, not what others wanted her to portray. She created a painting titled "The Lynching" because she felt a need to do it, she told an interviewer. She didn't expect anyone to buy it, she added, but it sold to a private collector. It is now in the collection of the Museum of African American Art in Tampa, FL.{{Cite news |last=Plohr |first=Anne |date=October 12, 2005 |orig-date=April 7, 1991 |title=Ellen Powell Tiberino is part of collection |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1991/04/07/ellen-powell-tiberino-is-part-of-collection/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231140132/https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1991/04/07/ellen-powell-tiberino-is-part-of-collection/ |archive-date=December 31, 2022 |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=St. Petersburg Times |pages=10F |id={{ProQuest|262814420}}}}{{Cite news |last=Scurry |first=Lessie |date=January 24, 1992 |title=The start of a legacy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/719089268 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Bradenton Herald |pages=48 |via=Newspapers.com}}

"When I am asked where I get my inspiration, I say it's all my life, my friends, everything I've seen and known. And I want to make it all come together and make sense and make people see. There's a feeling of joy that comes with it. I don't think enough credit is given to the real things in life, what I base my work on. Many people want only beauty around them, and I record life." ..." I've never sold myself short. I paint to please no one but myself, and I have done more meaningful work because of it. I paint life, and life is not always beautiful."

Tiberino's most controversial work was a collaboration with Joseph of a seven-foot relief sculpture depicting their interpretation of the MOVE bombing in 1985, which led to the deaths of five children & six adults in Philadelphia. The sculpture—titled "The MOVE Confrontation," created in 1986—depicted people engulfed in flames, Mayor W. Wilson Goode, a Death mask and horrified spectators. It was hung in the Temple University School of Law building as a Black History Month exhibit. It created controversy in the city and produced headlines across the country.{{Cite news |last=McLarin |first=Kimberly J. |date=October 4, 1991 |title=Home delights art and eye |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/174936152 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=21 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=February 19, 1986 |title=Artwork Showing Fiery Deaths Causes Controversy At Temple University |url=https://apnews.com/article/ec07a7288e1e104a0d019db928dd8712 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524132620/https://apnews.com/article/ec07a7288e1e104a0d019db928dd8712 |archive-date=May 24, 2023 |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=Associated Press}}

She said that they created the piece to express the pain they felt at watching the bombing of the MOVE compound. She speculated that it caused an uproar because Goode was still in office at the time. "I'm not a politician; I'm an artist. I must record what I see," she told an interviewer a few years later.

Tiberino also created paintings with brilliant colors and softer themes. These included "Perfect Day" with a huge bouquet of flowers; "Mother and Child," showing the intimacy of motherhood; "Heart of the Day" with soft purples and oranges, and animals. "The Cock Crows (1988) " was included in the 2022 exhibit "Don't Feed the Art: Woodmere's Animal Menagerie" at the Woodmere Art Museum.{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=Don't Feed the Art: Woodmere's Animal Menagerie |url=https://woodmereartmuseum.org/experience/exhibitions/don-t-feed-the-art-woodmere-s-animal-menagerie |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240720200455/https://woodmereartmuseum.org/experience/exhibitions/don-t-feed-the-art-woodmere-s-animal-menagerie |archive-date=July 20, 2024 |access-date=December 28, 2022 |website=Woodmere Art Museum}}

In addition to the MOVE sculpture, Tiberino collaborated and exhibited often with her husband Joseph.{{Cite news |date=March 19, 1972 |title=Gallery calendar |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/179986345 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=124 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=May 22, 1976 |title=Tiberinos in Group Art Exhibition |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=18 |id={{ProQuest|532717499}}}}{{Cite news |date=December 21, 1990 |title=Galleries (calendar) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/176295761 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=113 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=June 21, 1985 |title=Exhibits |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/173758383/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=87 |via=Newspapers.com}} He specialized in murals and portraits. They were considered the "Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera" of West Philadelphia.

They created an artistic compound of houses and structures in Powelton Village in West Philadelphia where they decorated the walls with paintings, murals, relief sculptures and other artwork. They also decorated their living space, patio, gardens and yards with art and sculptures. Begun in the early 1980s, it was a haven and meeting spot for both aspiring and seasoned artists, as well as friends. They held gallery openings on "Second Friday" and gallery walks. A devout Catholic, Tiberino set up a chapel to receive Holy Communion from the parish priest. She told an interviewer in 1989 that she got her courage from her faith.{{Cite news |date=March 5, 1992 |title=Ellen Powell-Tiberino, premier Phila. artist |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/182687497/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=Philadelphia Daily News |pages=22 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite book |last=Redcross |first=Evelyn |title=Connecting with People: Contemporary African-American Art |last2=Redcross |first2=Mercer III |publisher=October Gallery |year=2006 |isbn=9780979065507 |location=Philadelphia |language=en |oclc=84906402}}

Even before the compound, Tiberino and Joseph had converted a drugstore in Powelton Village called "The Building" for workshops led by artists and for group shows.{{Cite news |date=January 7, 2007 |title=The evolution of Black art |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=33 |id={{ProQuest|2638051156}}}} Over the years, she taught art classes in the community, at her son Raphael's school, at her home on Saturdays and at one point, at her studio.{{Cite news |date=August 15, 1972 |title=6.5 Million Dollars Awarded 552 Black Students by Ford - Photo caption: Four Season Day Camp for children |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=7 |id={{ProQuest|532577936}}}}

In 1991, she exhibited with Joseph, their son Raphael and four other artists at Galerie Nadeau as members of the Rambla Group, which also included Earl Wilkie. It was a group of artists who gathered for support and to share techniques.

Tiberino died on Feb. 28, 1992. Joseph opened the Ellen Powell Tiberino Memorial Museum of Contemporary American Art in her honor in 1999, inspired after he visited the Barnes Museum then in Merion, PA. It was a dream of his and her friends, including artist Laura Williams Chassot. The museum is part of the compound in Powelton Village. It hosts exhibits and offers a space for friends, artists and neighbors to drop in to discuss their art or to just hang out.{{Cite news |last=Booker |first=Bobbi |date=July 13, 2007 |title=Tiberino family to be celebrated with art exhibition |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=2-D |id={{ProQuest|2655380256}}}}{{Cite news |last=Sims |first=Phyllis |date=September 29, 2000 |title=Phila. museum recalls legacy of celebrated artist |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=1D |id={{ProQuest|533366687}}}}{{Cite news |last=Booker |first=Bobbi |date=June 8, 2004 |title=Simmons' art draws big crowd in Phila. debut |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=5-C |id={{ProQuest|2655329436}}}}{{Cite news |last=Booker |first=Bobbi |date=December 21, 2007 |title=Remembering sculptor John Simpson's genius through wood and words |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=2-D |id={{ProQuest|2638140069}}}}{{Cite news |date=May 11, 2001 |title=Weekend Spotlight |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=11_E |id={{ProQuest|533347940}}}}

While still at the academy, Tiberino exhibited at small venues and homes in the Philadelphia area. In 1960, the Citizens Service Committee sponsored an exhibit at a home to show off the city's young Black artists and their contributions to the art world. She was joined by artist/illustrator Robert Jefferson, Arthur Morgan, Gene Reynolds, Bernard Harmon, Eugene Solomon, Irma Wilson, Sandy Moon, Alonzo Perrin, Robert Forrest and sculptor Tony Barber.{{Cite news |last=Giddens |first=Nancy L. |date=February 16, 1960 |title=The Feminine Scene: Cocktails and Art Exhibit |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=6 |id={{ProQuest|532220347}}}}{{Cite news |last=Brinkley |first=Ora |date=May 18, 1979 |title=Life and Living |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=15 |id={{ProQuest|532791118}}}}

When she moved to New York in 1961, she painted and exhibited in the city.{{Cite news |last=Bannister |first=Charlie |date=March 2, 1962 |title=Around our town |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/184979398/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=Philadelphia Daily News |pages=27 |via=Newspapers.com}} She participated in a show at the Lynn Kottler Gallery in 1963 that featured oil paintings titled "Two Figures" and "Poochie," which "are attracting much comment", the New York Amsterdam News reported.{{Cite news |date=June 22, 1963 |title=Ellen Powell show |work=New York Amsterdam News |pages=13 |id={{ProQuest|226783583}}}}

She had a solo show in Goldstein Gallery in Philadelphia in 1963 where she exhibited 16 oils and 19 drawings.{{Cite news |date=November 28, 1964 |title=Photo caption: Artist |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=13 |id={{ProQuest|532566560}}}} Three years later, she was among young Black artists and students chosen to exhibit at William Penn Memorial Museum in Harrisburg by the mayor's Committee on Human Relations. Others included Moe Brooker, Barbara Bullock, Walter Edmonds, Charles Pridgen, Percy Ricks, Leroy Johnson, John Simpson, Maurice Thompkins, Gwendolyn Joyce Daniels and Tina Lloyd King.{{cite news |date=February 8, 1966 |title=Contemporary Negro in Art Show |newspaper=The Philadelphia Tribune |page=6 |id={{ProQuest|532559300}}}}

In 1963, she was selected to exhibit in PAFA's Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpturing, joining Louis B. Sloan and Raymond Saunders.{{Cite news |last=Greene |first=Janeen V. |date=March 23, 1963 |title=Anatomy of Art |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=10 |id={{ProQuest|532307733}}}}

In 1969, Tiberino was among 100 Black artists from across the country to participate in the exhibit "Afro-American Artists 1800-1969" sponsored by the School District of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Civic Center Museum. It included works by some of the country's top artists, including Horace Pippin, Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, Jacob Lawrence, Benny Andrews, Roland Ayers, Romare Bearden, Avel de Knight, Barkley Hendricks, Paul Keene, Raymond Saunders, Louis B. Sloan, Ed Wilson, Henry Ossawa Tanner and Joshua Johnson.{{Cite news |last=Donohoe |first=Victoria |date=December 14, 1969 |title=Impressive exhibit by Afro-Americans |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/169131720/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=136 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/afroamericanarti00cede_0/page/282/mode/2up?q=powell |title=Afro-American Artists; A Bio-Bibliographical Directory |publisher=Boston Public Library |year=1973 |isbn=9780890730072 |editor-last=Cederholm |editor-first=Theresa Dickason |pages=283–284 |language=en |oclc=1253786 |access-date=December 28, 2022 |via=Internet Archive}}

That same year, she exhibited in Lincoln University's first Black Arts Festival, a major exhibit of Black artists in the Delaware Valley. The show included works by Sam Gilliam, Romare Bearden, James Gadson, John Cook, John Wade, John Simpson, Walter Edmonds, Moe Brooker, Simmie L. Knox and Percy Ricks.{{Cite news |date=October 25, 1969 |title=Lincoln U.: Showcasing Black Artists |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=28 |id={{ProQuest|532529923}}}}{{Cite news |date=October 14, 1969 |title=First Black Arts Festival Opens at Lincoln U. on October 19th |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=20 |id={{ProQuest|532617009}}}}

In 1971, she participated in Percy Rick's "Afro American Images 1971" show at the State Armory in Wilmington, DE. The show by Rick's Aesthetic Dynamics Inc. featured 75 artists from New York to Washington, D.C., with 150 pieces of artwork.{{Cite news |last=Kaplan |first=Ruth Jillya |date=January 26, 1971 |title=75 Black Artists – And Guard's the Host |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/163212379/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The News Journal |pages=21 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=February 5, 1971 |title=Opening of Afro Exhibition Will honor 3 Black Artists |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/162297668 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The News Journal |pages=13 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |last=Ricks |first=Percy |date=May 17, 1992 |title=African-American art deserves encouragement and a place of respect |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/158839839 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The News Journal |pages=28 |via=Newspapers.com}} The artists included Randall Craig, an organizer of the 1969 exhibition in Philadelphia; Lois Mailou Jones, James L. Wells, Charles W. White, Norman Lewis, Samella Lewis and Edward Loper Sr. The exhibit was re-created in 2021 at the Delaware Art Museum in partnership with Aesthetic Dynamics.{{Cite book |title=Afro-American Images 1971: The Vision of Percy Ricks |publisher=Delaware Art Museum/Aesthetic Dynamics Inc. |year=2021 |isbn=9781736789902 |language=en |type=Exhibition catalog |oclc=1285684262}}

In 1977, Tiberino was the first artist to hold a solo exhibition at the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum, showing more than 40 paintings and drawings. The museum described her work as "infused with great emotion and passion. Her paintings and drawings with their soft, dark blustery lines strike the viewer with an immediate sense of the subject's physical and spiritual integrity."

In 1986, her works were in the exhibition "U.S. Art Census '86: Contemporary African-American Artists" at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The show accompanied a meeting of the National Conference of Artists in Philadelphia. Other artists featured were Moe Brooker, Walter Edmonds, James Dupree, Nanette Carter, Deryl Daniel Mackie and Charles Searles.{{Cite news |last=Dove-Morse |first=Pheralyn |date=April 1, 1986 |title=National Conference of Artists gather in our own Philadelphia |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=6_B |id={{ProQuest|532890512}}}}

In 1992, she was represented in an exhibit of 19th and 20^th-century African American artists at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which featured works from its collection and on loan. Included was her portrait of Sister Geneva, a Black missionary who worked in Tanzania. Titled "Works by African Americans," the museum exhibit also included Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Paul Keene, Howardena Pindell, Betty Saar, Carrie Mae Weems, Bill Traylor, William Hawkins, William Edmondson, Rev. William Gayles, Ned Cheadham and Furman Humphrey.{{Cite news |last=Verdino-Sullivan |first=Carla Maria |date=Nov–Dec 1992 |title=African American Artists in Context: The Philadelphia Art Museum |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o1gEAAAAMBAJ&dq=ellen+powell+tiberino&pg=PA42#v=onepage&q=ellen%20powell%20tiberino&f=false |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Crisis |pages=42 |via=Google Books}}{{Cite news |date=June 5, 1992 |title=Art (calendar) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/177939371 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=96 |via=Newspapers.com}}

A few weeks before she died on Feb. 28, 1992, her works were on exhibit in five spaces: October Gallery, Lucien Crump Art Gallery, Heritage Art Gallery, Hahn Gallery and the Free Library of Philadelphia. The Free Library exhibit featured prints by Delaware Valley Black artists from its collection, including Dox Thrash, Claude Clark, Samuel J. Brown Jr., Raymond Steth, Roland Ayers, Benjamin Britt, Reba Dickerson Hill, Tom McKinney, Columbus Knox, Dressler Smith, Cal Massey, Howard N. Watson, Joseph Holston and Sam Byrd.{{Cite news |date=January 24, 1992 |title=On the Move: Prints by Black artists |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=5C |id={{ProQuest|533046711}}}}{{Cite news |last=De La Vina |first=Mark |date=January 24, 1992 |title=Finding a treasure in Black prints |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/186627288 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=Philadelphia Daily News |pages=54 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Since her death, Tiberino's works have been exhibited in several solo and group shows. In 2000, the Philadelphia Museum of Art held a group show of prints and drawings by African Americans. Two of her works, which had never been exhibited, were shown: "Ethiopian Dancer" and "Farewell to Uncle Cliff." Other artists represented included Samuel J. Brown Jr., Charles Burwell, Quentin Morris, Howardena Pindell, Charles Searles, Humbert Howard, Raymond Steth and Dox Thrash.{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Carmela |date=February 15, 2000 |title=Black heritage at Art Museum |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=8D |id={{ProQuest|533345918}}}}

Tiberino's works were presented in two exhibits encompassing her family. In 2007, Sande Webster Gallery produced "The Tiberino Family: A Legacy of Art," which included Joseph, and children, Raphael, Ellen and Gabriel. In 2013, the African American Museum in Philadelphia told the story of the family and its connection to the city and the Black community. The show, titled "The Unflinching Eye: Works of the Tiberino Family Circle," was a 50-year retrospective of a family that has been called the "West Philly Wyeths."{{Cite news |last=Amorosi |first=A.D. |date=September 24, 2013 |title=Totally Tiberino |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/199673222 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=C01 |via=Newspapers.com}}

In 2015, she was represented in the Woodmere Art Museum's "We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia 1920s to 1970s." In 2021, she was included in the re-staging of Percy Ricks' exhibit "Afro-American Images 1971" at the Delaware Art Museum.

• Studio 13, 1962
• Lynn Kottler Gallery (NY), 1963
• Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1963, 1986
• Goldstein Gallery, 1964
• William Penn Memorial Museum (Harrisburg, PA), 1966
• Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1992, 2000
• Lincoln University, 1969
• Philadelphia Civic Center Museum, 1969
• Gallery 252, 1970{{Cite news |date=November 1, 1970 |title=Philadelphia Art Calendar |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/179951920/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=136 |via=Newspapers.com}}
• State Armory (Wilmington, DE), 1971
• Custom Frame Shop and Gallery, 1972, 1973,1982{{Cite news |date=February 16, 1982 |title=Art galleries to feature Nigerian and local Black artists |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=A9 |id={{ProQuest|532805450}}}}{{Cite news |last=Donohoe |first=Victoria |date=March 31, 1972 |title=Gallery Tour |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/179985504 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=20 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=January 21, 1973 |title=Calendar of events in the Philadelphia area |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/180330137 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=98 |via=Newspapers.com}}
• Acts of Arts Gallery (NY), 1973{{Cite news |last=Tapley |first=Mel |date=May 12, 1973 |title=About the arts |work=New York Amsterdam News |pages=D14 |id={{ProQuest|226505858}}}}
• Ile-Ife Museum of Afro-American culture, 1975, 1981{{Cite news |date=November 21, 1975 |title=Weekend (calendar) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/185332057 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=Philadelphia Daily News |pages=48 |via=Newspapers.com}}
• African American Museum in Philadelphia, 1977, 2004
• Thompson Park Visitors Center (NJ), 1976{{Cite news |last=Hipp |first=Pat |date=May 28, 1976 |title=Middletown Art Series is never dull |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/145804211 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=Asbury Park Press |pages=7 |via=Newspapers.com}}
• Philomathean Society Art Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, 1978{{Cite news |date=March 24, 1978 |title=Exhibits |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/173658114/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=54 |via=Newspapers.com}}
• Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, 1980{{Cite news |last=Prigmore |first=Barbara |date=February 9, 1980 |title=Philly Whirl |work=Baltimore Afro-American |pages=13 |id={{ProQuest|532608005}}}}
• Alfred O. Deshong Museum (Widener University), 1981{{Cite news |date=February 15, 1981 |title=Current art shows |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/172392234 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=260 |via=Newspapers.com}}
• Painted Bride Art Center, 1983{{Cite news |date=November 11, 1983 |title=Enjoy: Art show |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=A6 |id={{ProQuest|532829764}}}}
• Off The Wall Gallery, 1985
• Temple University School of Law, 1986
• Upstairs Gallery at Bacchanal, 1985, 1987, 1989{{Cite news |date=October 13, 1989 |title=Closing Party |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=5D |id={{ProQuest|532998409}}}}{{Cite news |date=February 8, 1985 |title=Black History Month: This week's events |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/173899082 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=117 |via=Newspapers.com}}
• Free Library of Philadelphia, 1988, 1992{{Cite news |date=January 8, 1988 |title=Black life depicted in exhibit at Library |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=6_C |id={{ProQuest|532966730}}}}
• Uptown Visual Arts Complex, 1988{{Cite news |date=March 4, 1988 |title=Exhibits |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/169830338 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=90 |via=Newspapers.com}}
• Uptown Theater, 1989{{Cite news |date=June 16, 1989 |title=Photo caption: Appreciating the "arts" |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=1B |id={{ProQuest|532967768}}}}
• 623 Gallery at Try Arts, 1990
• Hahn Gallery, 1991, 1992{{Cite news |date=February 7, 1992 |title=Guide to Lively Arts |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/184918404/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=52 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=February 9, 1992 |title=Guide to the Lively Arts |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/175372047 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=75 |via=Newspapers.com}}
• October Gallery, 1990, 1991, 1992{{Cite news |last=Wadlington |first=Cheryl |date=September 25, 1990 |title=Lifeline: Shows and expos |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=3C |id={{ProQuest|533013256}}}}{{Cite news |date=February 14, 1991 |title=Announcements |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=3 |id={{ProQuest|491715789}}}}{{Cite news |date=April 30, 1991 |title=Exhibits citywide feature the works of black artists |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/186712405/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=Philadelphia Daily News |pages=80 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |date=January 25, 1991 |title=Guide to the Lively Arts: In celebration of Black History Month |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/176390147/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 28, 2022 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=96 |via=Newspapers.com}}
• Woodmere Art Museum, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2022{{Cite news |last=Booker |first=Bobbi |date=February 15, 2009 |title=Black history endures in Philadelphia |work=The Philadelphia Tribune |pages=3-D |id={{ProQuest|2666330919}}}}{{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Exhibitions: A More Perfect Union? Power, Sex and Race in the Representation of Couples |url=https://woodmereartmuseum.org/experience/exhibitions/a-more-perfect-union-power-sex-and-race-in-the-representation-of-couples |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240724070855/https://woodmereartmuseum.org/experience/exhibitions/a-more-perfect-union-power-sex-and-race-in-the-representation-of-couples |archive-date=July 24, 2024 |access-date=December 28, 2022 |website=Woodmere Art Museum}}
• Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie (NJ), 2015{{Cite web |last=McMillan |first=Kali |date=2015 |title=On their Walls: African American Art by African American Collectors |url=https://ellarslie.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/The-Essay.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231231627/https://ellarslie.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/The-Essay.pdf |archive-date=December 31, 2022 |access-date=December 28, 2022 |website=Trenton City Museum}}{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Past Exhibits: On Their Walls: Area African American Collectors and Their African American Art |url=https://ellarslie.org/on-their-walls/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422124925/https://ellarslie.org/on-their-walls/ |archive-date=April 22, 2024 |access-date=December 28, 2022 |website=Trenton City Museum}}
• Twenty Two Gallery, 2018{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=Winter Garden Show, Twenty Two Gallery |url=https://www.mutualart.com/Exhibition/Winter-Group-Show/7C0174DA4F6C70AF |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241121-031631/https://www.mutualart.com/Exhibition/Winter-Group-Show/7C0174DA4F6C70AF |archive-date=21 November 2024 |access-date=December 28, 2022 |website=MutualArt.com}}
• Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (NY), 2019{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=Exhibitions: Installation Images: A LABOR OF LOVE: The Art Collection of Dr. Constance E. Clayton |url=https://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/galleries/installation-images-8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231225543/https://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/galleries/installation-images-8 |archive-date=December 31, 2022 |access-date=December 28, 2022 |website=New York Public Library}}
• Delaware Art Museum, 2021

• Cheyney University{{Cite web |date=August 13, 2022 |title=Windswept Women with Bonnet by Ellen Powell Tiberino |url=https://ogccu.org/the-collection/f/windswept-women-with-bonnet-by-ellen-powell-tiberino |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240725071622/https://ogccu.org/the-collection/f/windswept-women-with-bonnet-by-ellen-powell-tiberino |archive-date=July 25, 2024 |access-date=December 28, 2022 |website=Cheyney University Art Collection, October Gallery Museum}}
• Delaware Art Museum
• Free Library of Philadelphia
• Museum of African American Art (Tampa, FL)
• Philadelphia Museum of Art{{Cite journal |last=Tomlinson |first=Glenn C. |last2=Corpus |first2=Rolando |date=Winter 1995 |title=A Selection of Works by African American Artists in the Philadelphia Museum of Art |journal=Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin |volume=90 |issue=382/383 |pages=24–25 |doi=10.2307/3795505 |jstor=3795505}}
• Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell Tiberino, Ellen}}

Category:1937 births

Category:1992 deaths

Category:Painters from Philadelphia

Category:20th-century American painters

Category:Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni

Category:20th-century American women artists

Category:20th-century African-American painters

Category:20th-century African-American women artists