Natalie Barney

Natalie Barney

Writer and poet, was one of the most famous lesbians of her time and became widely famous for her affairs and love affairs with the most beautiful and famous women
Date of Birth: 31.10.1876
Country: USA

Content:
  1. Biography of Natalie Barney
  2. Early Life and Education
  3. First Lesbian Romance
  4. Relationship with Renee Vivien
  5. The Women's Academy
  6. Later Life and Legacy

Biography of Natalie Barney

Natalie Clifford Barney was born on October 31, 1876, in Dayton, Ohio. She was a writer and poet, and one of the most famous lesbians of her time, known for her affairs and romantic relationships with beautiful and renowned women.

Early Life and Education

Barney's father owned a company that produced railroad cars, while her mother inherited a whiskey company. Her mother was also a talented artist. Barney spent her childhood in Cincinnati, Washington, and often traveled to Bar Harbor, Maine during the summers. She also went on numerous tours throughout Europe.

First Lesbian Romance

In 1899, while engaged to a man named Freddie Manners-Sutton, Barney had her first lesbian affair with the famous courtesan Liane de Pougy. Barney, with her characteristic indifference, shared her plans with her fiancé - to marry him and receive $3.5 million from her guardians to support Liane. Surprisingly, her fiancé agreed to the arrangement. Inspired by her love for Pougy, Barney wrote her first book of poetry, "Women's Portraits and Sonnets."

Relationship with Renee Vivien

After her breakup with Pougy and the short-lived engagement with Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde's lover, Barney met the poet and writer Renee Vivien. Vivien, an Englishwoman who published her works in French, described their first meeting in her novel "A Woman Appeared to Me." Their relationship was passionate and doomed, as Barney embraced multiple lesbian relationships without jealousy, while Vivien desired monogamy.

The Women's Academy

In 1909, Barney founded the Women's Academy as an alternative educational institution for women in Paris. It was one of the first endeavors to organize women writers and held salons exclusively for women, attended by notable literary figures of the time such as Gertrude Stein, Colette, and Djuna Barnes. The Academy also provided subsidies for publications.

Later Life and Legacy

During World War I, Barney actively participated in anti-war demonstrations. In 1927, she established a relationship with artist Romaine Brooks, and together they worked on a novel, "The One Who is Legion, or A.D.'s After-Life," which was published in London in 1930.

In the 1930s, Barney and Brooks became associated with fascist circles. During World War II, they resided in Italy at the invitation of Mussolini. However, despite being part-Jewish herself, Barney blamed Churchill and the Jews for the war, which strained her relationship with the Jewish community.

In her later years, Barney mainly published memoirs, including "Traits and Portraits," "Journey of the Mind," and "Dangerous Memories." Her relationship with Brooks lasted for fifty years, although they had periods of separation due to Barney's other romantic liaisons, including a romance with Dolly Wilde, Oscar Wilde's niece.

Natalie Barney died on February 2, 1972, in Paris. Her self-written epitaph states, "She was a friend of men and a lover of women, which for passionate and desirous beings is better than the reverse." Barney, through her salon and the Women's Academy, contributed to the growing awareness and empowerment of women in both the artistic and intellectual spheres.

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