Major Public Works

If you are a curator for a museum or public institution and would like to know more about exhibiting Nancy Hemenway Barton’s work, please contact Rick Barton at krlfdb@aol.com or by calling 609-216-4084.

Bell Tower

Completed: 1991

Bell Tower consists of twelve embroidered panels which can be exhibited by themselves or together as part of an elegant, 18-foot free-standing structure. Inspired by her time at the American Academy in Rome, Hemenway invites viewers of Bell Tower to reconsider their understanding of ‘strength’ in architecture as well as our knowledge of softness as it relates to fiber arts.

“With embroidery and using only black and white wool yarns I have drawn as I would with charcoal or paint the linear shapes. In every instance, I have tried to capture the essence of each craft, and suggest that the same figures, although in different dress, represent modern activities in our century. We may have many new inventions, but in much of the world, the plow, the easel, the boat remain recognizable and useful.

I have also tried to capture the elegance that Giotto gave to the figures.

The use of red lacquer is a foil to the black and white, to give elegance and finish to the composition.”

- Nancy Hemenway Barton about Bell Tower (December 3, 1991)

Obfuscating time through linework, Bell Tower shows how our present lives can be understood as an evolution of our past. Silhouetted figures depicting fourteenth century workers wrap around a three-dimensional structure, telling a story of class and culture that spans centuries.

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Thaw

Completed: 1994 (6' H x 45'6”)

As a free-flowing translucent sculpture, “Thaw” calls you to come closer, drift forward, and become lost in the wonder of winter. As an artist develops their craft, competence and ambition compete against one another, compelling the other to grow stronger. Hemenway’s colossal 1994 installation “Thaw” embraces this energetic tug-of-war between capacity, growth, and ambition—all in pursuit of immersing the viewer in a woven winter world.

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Aqua Lapis V

Completed: 1978 (3' W x 9' h)

Gray/ Green/ Rose on white mohair and gray wool.

Fragment, Aqua Lapis

Completed: 1984 (9.5’ x 4.75’)

Gray, White, Brown on white + brown alpaca

Tipi Waterfall, Tipi Blizzard, and Tipi Cloud

Tipi Waterfall is part of the Wheaton College Permanent Collection

Tipi Waterfall Completed: 1986 (recreated in 1992)

In her final evolution of fiber artistry, Hemenway expanded her repertoire of fiber art by pulling tapestry off the wall and inviting the viewer to experience fiber art in three-dimensional space. Crafted for an international exhibition in Beijing, Hemenway’s Tipis sought to honor and elevate one of the most iconic American structures—the American Indian Tipi.

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Special Event

Completed: 1990 (71W x 112"L)

Red Wool and gray mixed wool/blue, white, gray, orange embroidery. (71” W x 112”L)

WaveLength I, Aqua Lapis

Completed: 1981 (163 1/2" W x 53"H)

Alpaca, twill weave; lamb's wool, plain weave; raw silk, weft-faced plain weave; dyed; surface embroidered in alpaca, mohair and lamb's wool in regular and loost satin and open and closed buttonhole stitches; hidden couching; folded, molded and layered; fringed; backed in wool, plain weave

Pectoral I

Soon to be part of Berea College Permanent Collection (2025)

Completed: 1973

Brown bayeta with white bayeta and natural shades of brown and grey alpaca with orange wool yearn needlecraft. Organdy insets. Currently owned by Hemenway Foundation. (60”W x 72” H)

Pectoral II

Completed: 1974 (6'8" x 48' W)

Brown bayeta with white bayeta and natural shades of brown and grey alpaca with orange wool yarn needlecraft

Aqua Lapis I

Completed: 1978

White wool and organdy, beige and gray embroidery.

Murex

Completed: 1975

Swiss organdy with lamb’s wool, alpaca and mohair needlecraft, bayeta frame. Includes acrylic rod. (55” W x 100” L)

Marsh Goldenrod

Completed: 1974

Alpaca with bayeta applique, lamb’s wool and alpaca and needlecraft. Shown in The Trail exhibits to 2017 Ahead of Her Time exhibit. (55”W x 98”H)

Variations on Sea

Completed: 1981 (69 1/2" H x 28" W - each panel)

Three panels, double sided cotton, plain weave; signed. Panel A: appliqued cotton, plain weave, attached with looped stitch. Panel B: appliqued cotton, plain weave, attached with looped stitch; surface embroidered in alpaca and silk in satin, stem and running stitches. Panel C: mohair and appliqued cotton, plain weave, attached with looped stitch; surface embroidered in mohair alpaca, lamb's wool and silk in satin, buttonhole, chain and running stitches; hidden couching.