Blueprint drawing of the First Floor of Alice Pike Barney's Studio House

Summary

Blueprint drawing of the first floor of Alice Pike Barney's Studio House, 2306 Massachusetts Avenue NW. William K. Karsunky was the Consulting Engineer.

Subject

• Barney, Alice Pike 1857-1931
• Barney Studio House (Washington, D.C.)
• National Museum of American Art (U.S.)

Category

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Notes

• Alice Pike Barney (1857-1931), art patron and painter, is best remembered for her efforts to transform Washington, D.C., into the nation's cultural capital during the first quarter of the twentieth century. Alice Pike Barney's home during her residence in Washington, The Barney Studio House, by architect Waddy B. Wood, provided a gathering place for the District's fledgling artists' community. There Barney entertained the likes of Franklin Roosevelt, Sarah Bernhardt, President Taft, and visiting avant-garde artists with elaborate performances of her countless plays, mime dramas, ballets, and musical productions. Barney convinced Congress to fund the building of the National Sylvan Theater on the grounds of the Washington Monument in 1916.
• Alice's daughters, Natalie Pike Barney (1876-1972), and Laura Clifford Dreyfuss-Barney (1879-1974), gave Studio House to the Smithsonian Institution for use as an arts and cultural center. Located at 2306 Massachusetts Avenue NW, the building initially housed offices and visiting scholars and guests. After renovation in 1980, Studio House was opened to the public for tours and entertainment events, including restagings of several of Alice Barney's plays. It was administered by the National Museum of American Art, which is now known as the Smithsonian American Art Museum. In March 1995, the Smithsonian approved the sale of Barney Studio House, the proceeds to go toward the endowment fund for its Smithsonian American Art Museum.
• See also 92-3532 and 96-1367 for images of the Barney Studio House. For additional blueprints of the Barney Studio House, see SIA2018-019602 - SIA2018-019606. For blueprints of Alice Pike Barney's Bar Harbor, Maine house, see SIA2018-019607 - SIA2018-019611.

Contained within

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7473, Box: Oversize

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

Unknown

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Topic

• Artists' studios
• Art
• Private collections
• Art--Private collections
• Art patrons

Place

• District of Columbia
• United States
• Washington, D.C
• Washington

Form/Genre

• Interior
• Paper
• Architectural drawings

ID Number

SIA2018-019601

Physical description

Number of Images: 1; Color: Color; Size: 11w x 8.5h; Type of Image: Architectural Drawing; Medium: Paper

Full Record

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