Barney, Alice Pike (1857–1931)

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Barney, Alice Pike (1857–1931)

American portrait artist. Born Alice Pike in 1857; died in Hollywood, California, 1931; dau. of Samuel Pike (Dutch-Jewish entrepreneur who built an opera house for Cincinnati); m. Albert Clifford Barney (industrialist, president of Barney Railroad Car Foundry); studied in Paris with James McNeill Whistler; married, at age 52, 22-year-old Christian Dominick Hemmick, c. 1909; children: (1st m.) Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972, writer) and Laura Barney (b. 1879).

Heiress and bohemian activist, known for her portraiture, who arrived in Washington DC with 1st husband and set out to change the city (1889); built Studio House in Sheridan Circle and hosted diverse endeavors, including her theatrical productions. Following her death (1931), her daughters donated the house to Smithsonian Institution, which sponsored the exhibit Alice Pike Barney: Pastel Portraits from Studio House (1985).

See also Women in World History.

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