Barbara Ann McCraw, “Paradiso,” 2011, 78×78, Courtesy of the artist.
Heirlooms of the Heart
The Life Stories of Barbara Ann McCraw
Oct. 21–Dec. 13, 2025
J. Wayne Stark Galleries | Memorial Student Center, MSC 1110
Barbara McCraw, a retired teacher and pathologist, has established herself as a Master Quilter whose works have been exhibited widely across North America and Europe and collected by major institutions such as the James Museum of Western Art, the Denton County African-American Museum, and the University of Michigan.
Her practice engages with both the technical traditions of quilting and the narrative possibilities of textile as a medium, producing works that honor figures such as Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and the Obamas. In doing so, McCraw situates quilting within a larger discourse of cultural memory, social justice, and African American heritage, transforming a historically domestic practice into a site of artistic innovation and historical reflection.
Central to McCraw’s work is an integration of personal history and collective identity. Influenced by her childhood experiences in a Chicago tenement and by the creativity and perseverance of her mother, McCraw approaches quilt making as both an act of remembrance and a process of contemporary artistic inquiry. Her vivid use of color, dynamic compositions, and willingness to depart from traditional patterning signal a dialogue between inherited forms and modern expressive strategies.
At once deeply personal and broadly resonant, her quilts function as objects of visual culture that bridge the realms of craft, fine art, and community service—underscoring the continued relevance of quilting as a medium of storytelling and cultural expression.
