George Ronald, Publisher Oxford www.grbooks.com
© Mona
Khademi 2022
All Rights Reserved A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-0-85398-652-2
Quotes from pp. 15, 16, 27, 33, 35, 39, 46, 47, 48, 55, 61, 63, 109, 141, 150, 171, 172, 173, 174, 182, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 235, 236, 246, 247, 248, 291, 334, 356, 357 from Wild Heart: A Life by Suzanne Rodriguez. ©2002 by Suzanne Rodriguez. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers. Every effort has been made to locate the copyright holders of Alice Pike Barney: Her Life and Art by the late Jean L. Kling, whose details when found will be included in subsequent editions of this book.
Cover design Steiner Graphics
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CONTENTS Acknowledgments Preface
xiii xvii
Part 1 Family and Childhood 1879 – 1899 A Remarkable Woman The Lineage of Laura’s Mother, Alice Pike The Lineage of Laura’s Father, Albert Barney Laura’s Early Years The Early Formation of Laura’s Personality The Sisters at Les Ruches Boarding School Artistic Life of Paris and Laura’s Mother The Family’s Move to Washington, D.C. Laura’s Return to the US Alice Finds Herself while Albert’s Health Declines Laura’s Treatments in Europe Laura’s Spiritual and Humanitarian Development The Dreyfus Affair and the Barneys in Paris
3 5 9 11 13 14 15 17 18 20 21 22 24
Part 2 Faith from the East and Life-Changing Effects 1900 – 1910 Turn of the Century and Laura Hearing of an Eastern Faith Laura Meets ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Second Trip to ‘Akká No. 7 Haparsim (Persian) Street Laura with the Persian Scholar in Paris Natalie and Ali-Kuli Khan in Paris With Abu’l-Faḍl in the United States Laura Back in Washington with Abu’l-Faḍl Laura’s Mother and Her Activities Laura, Her Conversion and May Bolles False News Reports and Effects on Laura’s Family
29 30 31 36 41 41 42 43 44 48 49 51
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Death of Her Father Keeping Her Mother Company in the United States Laura Helping Atabak after Khan’s Intervention The Story of the Exchanges Between Laura and Ali-Kuli Khan Laura’s Visits in the Holy Land Her Impressions and Experiences Living in ‘Akká With ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Household and Shoghi Effendi Laura as a Persian Translator for a United States Presidential Candidate With Her Mother in ‘Akká Alice Barney’s Return to the United States and Her Conversion Meeting Hippolyte Dreyfus Laura’s Trip to Turkmenistan and Persia (Iran) Visiting the Bahá’ís in Turkmenistan and Russian Turkestan (Uzbekistan) Arrival in Persia Continuing to Tehran, the Capital City Visiting Isfahan Back in Tehran A Quick Stop in Qazvín and on to Tabríz The Effects of Laura’s Trip to Persia and the Media Coverage Return to ‘Akká and Laura’s Report to the Master about Her Trip Back in the West Compiling and Publishing Some Answered Questions Reflecting on Her Conversion Trip to Chicago with Her Mother Developments within the Barney Family God’s Heroes: A Drama in Five Acts Nude Sculpture by Laura in Washington, D.C. Laura and the Persian–American Educational Society Part 3 Married Life, Travel and Achievements 1911 – 1928 Passing of Hippolyte Dreyfus’s Father Marriage of Laura Barney to Hippolyte Dreyfus Her Mother’s Wedding Invitation to a Special Guest: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey West Juliet Thompson and Laura With ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in France Trip to London to Assist the Master with Translation Honored Guest in Paris Paris Talks
54 56 60 60 64 71 74 77 78 79 81 84 85 88 90 93 95 97 100 103 105 108 117 119 120 121 129 131 137 137 140 141 142 143 145 146 149
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contents
With ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the United States Joining ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the United Kingdom ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Natalie The Master Back in Paris Travels across America Beginning of Her Journey around the World ‘From the Peace of the East to the War of the West’ and Their Arrival in Japan Korea, China and News of War Return to Europe via the United States and Laura’s Services in France The Opium Pipe: In the Land of Persia Women’s Rights in the United States and Laura’s Mother Laura’s Work with the American Red Cross Reprinting Some Answered Questions The Last Years of World War I Contacts with Her Mother During the War Years Acknowledgments of Laura’s Contributions During World War I Travel to the Holy Land Follow-up from Shoghi Effendi and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Trip to the United States to Visit Her Mother Visits with Shoghi Effendi in Paris Alice’s Marital Problems and Divorce Laura’s Last Visit with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the Holy Land Laura’s Second Journey to the Far East Dutch Indies (Indonesia) Bali and Singapore Phnom Penh, Cambodia Back in Vietnam In the Republic of China Hong Kong, Macao and Canton Back in Angkor Wat and Continuing Onward Visit to Burma (Myanmar) Hearing in Rangoon the Sad News of the Passing of the Master Travel to India Visiting Ahmedabad and Meeting Gandhi In ‘Akká after the Passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá A Short Expedition with Friends Laura’s Interest in the League of Nations and the International Council of Women
150 154 155 156 160 163 164 167 169 171 172 173 174 175 177 178 179 183 184 185 186 187 188 191 192 193 195 198 200 202 203 204 206 209 211 213 215
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Travel to the United States to Visit Laura’s Mother Back on the Continent and Further Accomplishments Laura Continues Her Bahá’í Activities Laura’s Involvement in Diverse Humanitarian Activities and Using Cinema as an Educational Tool for Peace Hippolyte’s Health Promoting the Mission of the League of Nations at Teacher Training Colleges The Passing of Laura’s Husband, Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney Part 4 Laura on Her Own 1929 – 1964 Life after the Death of Hippolyte Reflections on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Efforts with the League of Nations and the International Council of Women Preparations for the First Conference of Women Specializing in Motion Pictures The Conference in Rome Farewell to Her Mother Vice President of the Disarmament Committee of the Women’s International Organisations Travels and Lectures across Canada Arrival in Los Angeles and Managing Her Mother’s Estate Exhibition of Her Mother’s Paintings Continuing Her Activities Back on the Continent The First Congress of Educational and International Cinematography in Rome Travels and Talks in Egypt and Visit to Haifa Continuing Her Talks and Lectures in Lebanon, Turkey and Greece Corresponding with May Maxwell, Laura’s Spiritual Mother The Convener of the Peace and Arbitration Committee of the ICW Laura and the Outbreak of World War II Safe Arrival and Continuation of Her Humanitarian Services in the United States Co-founding and Co-sponsoring the Institute on World Organization Other Endeavors while in the United States Contact with Shoghi Effendi and His Wife during World War II Contact with the Bahá’ís of Paris and Geneva during the War Return to Europe after World War II
216 218 220 221 223 224 228 241 243 244 246 252 255 258 261 263 267 269 270 271 276 284 285 288 289 292 293 295 297 298
viii
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contents
Back in the United States 300 Laura’s Bahá’í Activities after the War 301 Staying in Touch with Natalie 304 Establishing a Memorial Fund for Alice Pike Barney at the Smithsonian Institution 306 Laura’s Activities while in Europe 308 Visits to the United States 310 Supporting Joséphine, Wife of Edwin Scott 311 The Bust of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and other Bahá’í Happenings 312 Farewell to Edith Sanderson 313 Her Friends from Long Ago 314 Laura and Romaine Brooks 317 Passing of the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi 318 Laura’s Health 319 Sharing the Stories of Her Early Bahá’í Years and Preserving Them 319 Further Developments with Some Answered Questions 322 Her New Concern 327 Rescuing the Archives of the International Council of Women 328 Laura’s Devotion and Obedience to the Faith and Its Leadership at a Time of Crisis 330 Donating Studio House to the Smithsonian Institution 333 Writing Articles and Reprinting Books by Hippolyte 335 Concerns about Natalie’s Health and Visiting Her in Switzerland 336 Last Visit to Her Country of Birth in the First Half of the 1960s 337 Part 5 The Last Years of Her Life in Paris 1965 – 1974 Last Return to Paris 343 Her Health and Treatments 344 The International Council of Women and One More Trip to Iran? 345 Her Closest Cousin, Ellen Goin-Rionda 347 Baron von Blomberg of the World Fellowship of Religions 348 Laura’s Support of Others 349 David Bruce, Her Closest Relative 352 Romaine Brooks’ Artwork at the Smithsonian Institution and Her Death 354 Laura’s Contact with Natalie in Their Late Years 355 The Passing of Natalie Barney 361 Further Editions of Laura’s and Hippolyte’s Books and Translations 363 Laura’s Will, Precious Documents and Valuables 365 New Developments with Some Answered Questions 366 Appreciations from Around the World 368 ix
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Laura Dreyfus Barney Remembered Staying Home, Welcoming Visitors and Corresponding with Friends Supporting Bahá’í Funds, Activities and Institutions Living with Her Memories and Finding Ways to Safeguard Them The Last Year of Laura’s Life Announcements of Her Death, Obituaries and Acknowledgments of Her Services
370 371 375 377 378 381
Epilogue
385
Appendix A: Brief Introduction to the Bahá’í Faith Appendix B: Listing for Laura Dreyfus-Barney in Who’s Who in America Abbreviations Bibliography Notes and References Index About the Author
395 399 401 403 415 477 489
x
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PREFACE What happens to a story that is never told? It’s like the story never happened. A story needs to be told for it to live on and continue . . . And the stories that definitely should be told are the ones that have an impact on our life and others’ lives. Anonymous
I first became interested in Laura Barney in 2000 when I learned that Studio House, her home in Washington, D.C., which had been donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1960, was being sold and its contents auctioned owing to the expense of maintaining it. At that time, all I knew was that she was a Bahá’í, that her mother, Alice Pike Barney, may also have been one, and that Laura Barney had compiled an important book for the Bahá’í Faith. This book, entitled Some Answered Questions, was a compilation of oral commentaries made by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of the prophet-founder of the Bahá’í Faith. Therefore, I decided to visit Studio House to see the furniture and objects that belonged to the Barney family. I later learned that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had visited that house at least three times in 1912 during His tour of the United States and Canada. Studio House was commissioned and built by Laura’s mother, Alice Pike Barney, in 1902. Laura and her sister, Natalie Barney, inherited it in 1931 upon the death of their mother. In 1960 they donated Studio House and its contents to the Smithsonian Institution, a group of museums and research centers, to be used as a cultural center. The house had unusual but exciting architectural features and was designated in 1995 a historical site by the city of Washington, D.C., thus preserving it from destruction. Prominent people, including artists, authors, musicians and diplomats, and even two presidents of the United States, William H. Taft and Theodore Roosevelt, had frequented the opulent rooms of Studio House. xvii
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That year I became deeply interested in learning about the life of Laura Barney and began my research. I started by checking the many boxes of documents that had been removed from Studio House and were being kept in the Smithsonian Institution Archives to see if there were any important materials. I found interesting documents, newspaper clippings and letters exchanged with her mother and others, etc. In time, however, I found to my amazement that only limited information about her life had been published. My life found a new goal exactly one century after Laura found a new religion, the Bahá’í Faith, in 1900. As had Laura one hundred years before, I discovered something new to guide and engage me. The research about her life became my passion and daily thoughts. I found it more interesting as I moved forward. There were many questions to be answered. My interest in Laura, which had started with her Bahá’í activities, expanded to her other achievements in the arenas of women’s rights, peace building and humanitarian efforts. Her family life was also fascinating. During the years that I researched and wrote about her life and achievements for articles, papers and this biography, I lived in two different eras – one was the time in which she lived and the other was my own. Her story was awe-inspiring and every new discovery about it was captivating. Our paths may even have crossed since she was still alive and living in Paris when I was studying there in 1973 and 1974. My place of residence was not far from hers. Did I ever see this distinguished lady at gatherings at the Bahá’í Center in Paris? If so, I would not have known at that time that she would become the focus of my research for over two decades. Had I known about this incredible woman then when she was approaching the end of her life, I would have visited and asked her many questions. Instead, to write her biography, I had to suffice with her correspondence, references in history books, archival materials, and transcribed interviews with individuals who had met her. By some strange twist of fate, Laura, who had rendered enormous service and whose memory needed to be cherished in history, received little in the way of acknowledgment, whereas her sister Natalie appeared in many memoirs and was the subject of several full-length biographies. Proper recognition has eluded Laura both within her faith group as well as in the outside world. One reason may be the unfortunate fact that her diaries and important documents were stolen during World War xviii
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PART 1
FAMILY AND CHILDHOOD 1879 – 1899
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A Remarkable Woman It is in Cairo, Egypt, end of winter 1935. An elegantly-dressed American woman is waiting in the lobby of a luxury hotel with charming and convincing simplicity. During this stay her hotel room so overflowed with flowers that she could not move easily about in it. Three dozen Easter lilies had also been sent to her room. This is Shepheard’s Hotel in downtown Cairo, a historic hotel, the playground of the international aristocracy.1 The hotel’s guestbook is a Who’s Who of dignitaries. It is steeped in history. Every person of social standing wants to have tea here, to see and to be seen in the lobby. Kings and queens, crown princes and presidents have stayed here. Among the famous people who have stayed here is the celebrated explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who was in love with this woman’s mother when she was a teenager. This elegant woman has just arrived from Alexandria. Even though she is in the sixth decade of her life, her youthful face glows with intelligence and kindness. This fascinating woman speaks French in a refined voice without an accent that would otherwise betray her American origin. She has put her roots down in France to serve a greater homeland, that of men of goodwill who pursue selfless and impressive ‘adventures of the spirit’. This adventurous woman is transplanted to France but she never had to choose between her two homelands. She believes that one is never without roots when one can serve the greater homeland. On both sides of the ocean, she surrounds herself with spiritual people, artists and intellectuals. This elite woman has an astonishing personality and lucid intelligence. She knows ‘how to think globally’ at a time when so much hatred and so many minds make brothers into enemies, once again threatening the return of war. She has already seen a world war and its victims. For her vital, selfless service to the refugees and injured of the greatest conflict the world had yet seen, she was awarded the title of Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor. This extraordinary woman is a never-tiring traveler who has visited distant lands extensively to bring understanding between peoples and had used her feminist ideals for peace. She is a wonderful liaison between nations as she travels to work with others to establish social justice, to promote women’s rights, and to unite the world to bring about peace and harmony. Her life is devoted to bringing together 3
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people of different cultures and races. Eradication of racial prejudices through mutual understanding is one of her goals.2 This remarkable woman has already seen and lived with people of faraway lands and studied their living conditions and daily problems. She has already embarked on many noble causes. She has already presided over an important world congress in Rome. She has already traveled triumphantly across Canada and given talks at universities, private clubs, and women’s organizations about disarmament and world peace, receiving testimonies of appreciation. This international woman met a spiritual leader from the East and accepted his teachings, the Bahá’í Faith. She gave those beliefs a central role in her life. She traveled to the native land of the Prophet-Founder of her Faith, Iran, and was the first western Bahá’í woman to do so. She compiled a book that was of inestimable value and service to her Faith. She has been to Egypt many times and loves being in that country. Her first trip was at the turn of the century when she was not yet 21 years old! She likes the Egyptians very much and finds them very kind. But this time she is nostalgic. She misses her husband, who has passed away. They had stayed at Shepheard’s Hotel some years ago though there was unrest and violent rioting in Egypt at the time. This time she is on her own; however, she is carrying his suitcase, which is a reminder of him. She has also spent time in this city with her beloved mother some years earlier. She is missing her sister, especially after meeting some people who knew her and had read her books, and she is proud of her. Not even separation from her loved ones and her loneliness will stop her from continuing forward on her mission of serving humanity and bringing peace to mankind. She will soon leave for other cities on her journey to continue a series of lectures on peace and disarmament, in Alexandria, Haifa, Beirut, Damascus, Ankara and Athens, before returning home to Paris. But who is this woman? Who is this woman who at the turn of the 20th century had an ‘undaunted zeal for the objective of the brotherhood of man’ and remained vibrant and immersed in life to her very last day on earth? Who is this woman who met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Gandhi, Mussolini, Ezra Pound, Whistler and Eleanor Roosevelt? Who is this notable woman who held many positions with the International Council of Women and served as the Vice President of its Disarmament Committee? Who 4
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family and childhood 1879 – 1899
is this woman who was the only female member of the Committee of Experts of the League of Nations? Who is this woman who compiled a book that took its place with the sacred writings of the Bahá’í Faith? Who is this amazing woman who learned fluent Persian? Who is this accomplished woman whose death was reported in the major newspapers of the time on both sides of the Atlantic? Who is this woman who shares a burial site with Natalie Barney? This woman is Madame Dreyfus-Barney, born Laura Clifford Barney. Some people may know her by her greatest achievement, which was compiling the book Some Answered Questions, which was to hold invaluable significance for the followers of a new religion, the Bahá’í Faith. Many will not know her. Yet, in addition to the book she compiled in her twenties, she accomplished much more during her long life. Laura lived in two different worlds: one of her wealthy family and the other of her spiritual family. Her privileged family mingled with the elite social, political and artistic circles of Washington, D.C.; New York; Bar Harbor, Maine; and later Paris. She had another world of her own, that of significant people in ‘Akká, Palestine (today’s Israel), who in the early years of the 20th century spoke Persian and wore oriental garb and turbans. Later in life she mingled with those who believed in the unity of mankind and worked towards peace, equality and women’s rights. Her family members spoke English and were fluent in French but she spoke an additional language, Persian, well enough to be able to ask questions of a spiritual leader from the East. Laura Alice Clifford Barney was born on November 30, 1879 to Alice Pike Barney, artist and philanthropist, and Albert Clifford Barney, a wealthy industrialist, in Mount Auburn near Cincinnati, Ohio. To understand Laura’s story, one must begin by learning about her parents and their lineage. The Lineage of Laura’s Mother, Alice Pike Alice Pike was descended from an aristocratic French family that included her great-great-grandfather Ennemond Meuillion, a trained doctor who arrived in Louisiana around 1770.3 Her great-grandmother, Ursula, born in 1784, was Meuillion’s second child by a second marriage. Though petite, she was a determined young woman and refused 5
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to learn English so that anyone in her company had to speak French.4 In 1802 Ursula married William Miller, Laura’s great-grandfather, a prominent and successful trader from Rapids County, Louisiana. Several years later in 1815, the young family moved north and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Miller prospered in real estate. Ursula passed away five years later of yellow fever. Miller followed his wife in death after five years, from cholera, but lived to see the marriage of his youngest daughter Ellen to Samuel Napthali Pike.5 Samuel Pike, Laura’s maternal grandfather, was the first child born to a poor German-Jewish father and a Dutch-Christian mother in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1822. The family immigrated to America when he was five years old. The only items that Samuel’s parents had brought from Europe were two Dutch Renaissance paintings and a few pieces of silver. One day while on a stopover in Cincinnati in July 1844, Sam walked through an upscale neighborhood whose streets were lined with fine houses. A young woman named Ellen Miller appeared on the balcony of one of them. While he was gazing intently up at her, he fell into a hole in the street and the young woman came to his rescue. They subsequently fell in love and were married the following year. Ellen had a sister called Louise, whose great grandson David Bruce became a dear friend of Laura and of her only close family members several decades later in Europe. The young couple had grown up in wildly different circumstances. Sam Pike had known poverty all his life; he was determined to make a fortune and was willing to work hard to obtain it. Ellen had been raised in luxury and did not worry about money. And there were other major differences. He was intelligent, clever, attentive and cordial and developed interests in poetry and painting, while she was private and introverted and spent much of her time reading. She was a practicing Catholic but he professed no faith. Rather than follow one of the family religions – Catholicism, Judaism and Protestantism – they took a middle road and joined the Episcopal Church. Despite their differences, the marriage was considered to be a happy one. Sam Pike made his initial money in the distilling and bottling of whiskey for which there was a big market but then diversified, investing in property from hotels to office buildings and land and even a trolley system. In time he became a multimillionaire entrepreneur and distiller with wide-ranging interests that included collecting paintings and rare books, playing the flute and writing poetry. 6
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