Between September to November 1946, the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York exhibited five pieces of Madeleine Burrage's jewelry in "Modern Handmade Jewelry." The exhibition featured modern art luminaries like Alexander Calder and Anni Albers.

The MOMA press release noted the, "criterion of selection was simply: those designs which showed that the artist had considered the characteristics of the materials used and made us aware of their intrinsic beauty in contemporary terms."

Madeleine Burrage, who was born in Portland and lived in Kennebunkport and Wiscasset, sought out the stones she used to design and make jewelry.