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With Deep Gratitude

The bonsai world is indebted to Barbara for her visionary support of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, DC.

Barbara was a great friend of the late John Naka, who many consider the father of the art of bonsai in America and whose legacy is preserved in the John Y. Naka North American Pavilion at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.
Barbara’s longstanding championship of the Museum was steadfast and unwavering, assuring that the National Bonsai Foundation (the 501(c)(3) organization supporting the Museum) would always do its utmost to carry out Barbara's vision of a bonsai museum second to none throughout the world.

Barbara’s wishes have been realized, as the Museum has become a global center for the art of bonsai. For more information on the Museum and NBF, please visit https://www.bonsai-nbf.org/.

Felix Laughlin, Former NBF President

The photograph shows Barbara with her bonsai friends (left to right: Marybel Balendonck, John Naka, Kay Komai, Barbara, Cheryl Manning, and Alice Naka).

Our hearts go out to the entire Hall family. As Hallmarkers and Barbara Marshall Award winners, Andy Newcom and I will always hold a special place in our hearts for her. Barbara's support for artists and exploring their creativity, was such a gift to the creative community -- and all of Hallmark. For our project, "Wishes for the World," we collected wishes from elders across the country. Now, it is our wish that the spirit and heart of Barbara Marshall will continue to inspire -- it definitely will in both of us.

James Hastrich and I would like to express our gratitude to Barbara for the support and encouragement she gave to each of us as miniature furniture builders at the beginnings of our careers. She always stopped by our sales tables at miniature shows, selecting the very best of our work, inspiring and encouraging us to make ever more challenging pieces. Her impeccable taste and gracious manner will always be a gift to us, and to so many more. Thank you, Barbara.

Mrs. Barbara Marshall, a co-founder of The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures in Kansas City, will always be remembered for her love of art. Mrs. Marshall was a nationally recognized collector of fine-scale miniatures and a leading patron of the fine-scale miniature art movement. Her unique method of commissioning work allowed many artists to extend the boundaries of the art form. The museum’s fine-scale miniature galleries highlight the legacy of Mrs. Marshall’s love of miniatures and the people who created them. We are honored to continue Mrs. Marshall’s passion for sharing fine scale miniatures with the public through this unique collection, programs, and exhibits.

I remember very clearly being a new editor many, many years ago and being delighted and inspired by the work of Barbara Marshall Award winners. Each person's story and the work they created was so moving and unique. I was lucky to win the award myself in 2018 and it truly changed my life. With that opportunity I learned so much about myself, about others, about creativity, and about story. And I loved getting to share that with friends, followers, and colleagues. The number of people whose lives have been enriched by the legacy of Barbara Marshall is innumerable. I am so grateful to have been one of them.

Barbara has meant so much to so many of us who make fine miniatures that it is hard to put into words. She supported us not only by purchasing our work, but by her sincere appreciation and understanding of what we do. She was my first customer at my first miniature show, calming my fears that no one would "get" my small scale houses. Her beautiful museum, full of pieces by the countless artists whom she encouraged to do their very best work, will be a lasting legacy.

As a Hallmark Artist and a KCAI graduate, I am very aware of Barbara Marshall's love of the Arts and of her incredible generosity. Although I never had the chance to meet MS. Marshall, in 2010, in Hallmark's 100th year, I received the "Barbara Marshall Award." The six month sabbatical gave me the opportunity to pivot from my day to day life and pursue a dream of traveling the country, photographing everyday people and telling their stories. During this time my wife and I fell in love and truly began our lives together. The photography show was only up for a month in Hallmark's ninth floor gallery, but, my life had been changed forever. I owe so much to Barbara Marshall and Hallmark. For the past ten years I sent MS. Marshall a holiday card, thanking her for those six months, my wife, my boy and my world. I am forever grateful.

In 2003 I participated in The Barbara Marshall program. I was one of Hallmark's Sr staff artists who was desperate for creative growth. This terrifying, solitary program could not have been a better match for my flailing personality. She was an incredible advocate for me in discovering "my voice". No where on earth has there been a person like her- thoughtful, generous, creatively composed and yet principled in her business outlook, always to the benefit of us fringe creatives. To me it is astonishing that Barbara was so relentlessly supportive. My creative/business values have been defined by her support, and will remain guideposts for me for ever. Thank you Barbara (and family).