Museum of International Folk Art

The Museum of International Folk Art was founded in 1953 by Florence Dibell Bartlett (1881-1954), a wealthy Chicagoan who began visiting New Mexico in the 1920s. Her guiding vision was summed up by her statement “The art of the craftsman is a bond between the peoples of the world.” Like many of her generation who lived through two world wars, Bartlett was seeking a way of bridging differences and creating a sense of fellowship among cultures. For Bartlett, traditional folk arts from around the world were a means of demonstrating a common bond.