Mary Alice Pemble Barton
(1917—2003)
Collector, donor of quilts, fabrics & periodicals; playwright, award winning quilter. Inducted into The Quilters Hall of Fame in 1984 at the Continental Quilting Congress, Arlington, Virginia.
Research Associate: Pat Nickols
Mary Barton calls her work, “independent research, conservation and preservation.” She not only collected quilts but also costumes and other textiles, as evidence in the process of dating quilts.
Mary wrote a play “Aunt Mary’s Quilting Party” in 1968 for the Faculty Wives Club at Iowa State University. Her quilt making included her “Heritage Quilt,” made in commemoration of our nation’s bicentennial. It won a first prize ribbon at the Iowa State Fair, 6th place ribbon at the National Bicentennial Quilt Exposition and Contest in Warren, Michigan, and more recently was selected as one of the 20th Century’s 100 Best American Quilts.
Her fame began when she lectured at quilt conferences and set up a “Study Center” at the 1983 Heirloom to Heirloom Quilt Conference, Ames, Iowa, and at the 6th Continental Quilting Congress, 1984. In addition to quilts, the center featured her collection of fabrics and scrapbooks full of quilt patterns, articles and advertisements.
Her collection of quilts and other quilt related items was donated to the Iowa State Historical Museum, the Living History Farms, Iowa State University and other Iowa organizations.