Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Natalie Barney


I first came across the fascinating Natalie Barney (1876-1972) in an issue of The Paris Review which published a tribute shortly after she died, "A Natalie Barney Garland." The picture above is c. 1892.

Below, a picture when Natalie was younger. Her family was quite well-to-do.

Natalie was an American woman born way ahead of her time. She knew she was lesbian at an early age, which must have been unbearable in that patriarchal era when women had few rights. Barney was a writer and poet, and moved to Paris long before Hemingway to live openly as a lesbian with no apologies to anyone. She had a salon of writers and artists (including men), promoted and supported their work, and by all accounts led a fabulous and charmed life, which included art, literature and numerous affairs. Monogamy was not on the agenda.

Below, some marvelous details from the Wikipedia entry on Barney (which you can read in its entirety by clicking here):
 
In the 1900s Barney held early gatherings of the salon at her house in Neuilly. The entertainment included poetry readings and theatricals (in which Colette sometimes performed). Mata Hari performed a dance once, riding into the garden as Lady Godiva on a white horse harnessed with turquoise cloisonné.
The play Equivoque may have led Barney to leave Neuilly in 1909. According to a contemporary newspaper article, her landlord objected to her holding an outdoor performance of a play about Sappho, which he felt "followed nature too closely." She canceled her lease and rented the pavillon at 20, Rue Jacob in Paris' Latin Quarter and her salon was held there until the late 1960s.

The courtesan Liane de Pougy, one of Barney's amours.

 Natalie Barney and Romaine Brooks, her longtime companion.

Natalie Barney was born in Dayton, Ohio, the site of this year's Paper Doll convention. I may have to journey to the marker placed in her honor. And wouldn't she make a grand paper doll?

I leave you with The Myra, the "it" hat of Fall/Winter 1885-6.

My dear, you just never know what a woman is keeping under her hat.

Click the logo below for some more millinery musings.

19 comments:

  1. That was very interesting. I never heard of Natalie Barney before.

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  2. What an interesting story. And great hats to boot making this a perfect Sepia Saturday post.

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  3. I take my hat off to you, Linda for a perfect post for the theme. Interesting story with some fine hats.

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  4. Fascinating. I actually like the second hat (and photo) best of all. The way the little dog is somewhat aggressively perched on the table, adds an interesting element.

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  5. She’s someone I’ve never heard of before, but what a fascinating character, and she fits the hat theme perfectly.

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  6. i prefer the photo of Liane de Pougy.

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  7. Interesting story! I had never heard of her before. Her salon must have been quite a famous location in Paris.

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  8. Perfect! People so ahead of their time that it takes decades to catch up.

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  9. What a beautiful and fascinating woman. I am always jealous of people who move to Paris. I have such happy memories of the city.

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  10. That top one looks like cotton-candy! What a confection!

    I'm trying to track down the origin of the hat on my blog and you may have given me a clue. Thank you!

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  11. I may have to track down her commemorative marker as well. Fascinating woman! Perfect SS.

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  12. Isn't it fascinating when you read about how all these people hobnobbed in their daily lives. I was just thinking this evening about a woman who was my landlady for many years and the stories she used to tell about how her folks were friends of Jack London. She remembers him vividly from her childhood.

    The feather on her hat almost looks like a mushroom cloud.

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  13. Some great images. It is clear that the golden age of postcards coincided with the golden age of hats.

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  14. Those hats are a lot of hat. The first photo looks like whipped cream or cotton candy. Very interesting post. Had not heard of her.
    QMM

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  15. Great hats - fascinating story, she was ahead (pardon the pun) of her time!

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  16. I never before heard of Natalie Barney, but what a striking set of heads and hats.

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  17. My personal opinion is that lesbianism was better suited for the rich than the common folks. A woman could find herself a rich husband, too busy with his business and affairs of his own to much care about what the lady did back home. Some opted to do that, to keep up appearances... Others, like Nathalie, didn't settle for the "easy" solution and I admire their bravado at living their lifestyle as they saw fit. I would have liked seeing Mata on that horse... Must have been a memorable moment.
    :)~
    HUGZ

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  18. I'm late looking at Sepia Saturday entries this week.... Like others who viewed this post, I had not heard of Natalie Barney. She led an interesting life. In the first photo she was just 16 years old. I think she looks older. The second photo is beautiful - her costume, the setting, her dog. Lovely.

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  19. I've been a fan of Natalie's for decades. There are some wonderful biographies of her that are probably still available. What a role model. Thanks for the post.

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