Mary Tarleton Knollenberg (1904-1992) was an American sculptor working primarily in bronze, stone and plaster. Her artwork characteristically portrays the female form and expressions of female identity. She specialized in nudes; however, her oeuvre also contains animals, busts, and portraits. The Mary Tarleton Knollenberg papers comprise photographs of her family and her sculptures, correspondence with her husband and fellow artists, journals, and ephemera related to her work and exhibitions. The collection also contains resources used in the creation of the retrospective Modern Figures, written by Tarleton's grand-niece, Ippy Patterson.

The Mary Tarleton Knollenberg papers are arranged into the following five series: Correspondence, Photographs, Writings, Publicity and Other.

These series comprise Mary Knollenberg's personal photographs of her family and sculptures; writings, diaries and sketches; as well as ephemera and publicity related to her work and exhibitions. The collection also includes correspondence between Mary and her husband Bernhard Knollenberg, friends, and other prominent artists of the time. In addition, The Mary Tarleton Knollenberg papers contain the journals and poetry of her mother, writer Mary L. Tarleton, as well as letters between her parents during the early years of their relationship.

These materials were assembled by Mary Knollenberg's great-niece, the artist Ippy Patterson, who used them to research Mary's life and work. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.