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Iris Barry

April 27, 2024

Iris Barry (1895 – 22 December 1969) was a film critic and curator. In the 1920s she helped establish the original London Film Society, and was the first curator of the film department of the Museum of Modern Art, New York City in 1935.

Iris Barry
Born
Iris Sylvia Crump

1895
Washwood Heath
Died(1969-12-22)December 22, 1969
Marseilles, France
NationalityBritish; American
Occupationfilm critic
Known forcurator at the Museum of Modern Art

Life edit

Barry was born Iris Sylvia Crump, in the Washwood Heath district of Birmingham, England. She was the daughter of Alfred Charles Crump and Annie Crump. She studied at the Ursuline convent, Verviers, Belgium.[1]

She moved to London in 1916 or 1917, where she met Ezra Pound and attended “Ezuversity,” that is, Ezra Pound’s programme through which he educated young male and female poets on the art of reading and writing. In the letters Pound wrote to her, among many other things, he encouraged her to emancipate herself, to avoid marriage and to do something no other living person had done before.[2] She had two children with Wyndham Lewis, a boy in 1919, and daughter in 1920.[1] According to scholar Yolanda Morato, the avant-garde had a very strong impact on her during this period; the essence of her first book on the cinema as art is to be found in these years.[3] As Barry spent the war years going to the cinema, when she wrote her book Let's go to the pictures (1926), she explicitly stated: "Going to the pictures is nothing to be ashamed of" (p. viii).

In 1923 she met the American poet Alan Porter (1899–1942), assistant literary editor of The Spectator, and published a poem in the magazine in July 1923. During their engagement The Spectator also favorably reviewed her first novel, Splashing into Society. She and Porter were married on October 8, 1923, the name Felix Porter appearing in the marriage record.

She began publishing film criticism in The Spectator in 1923, and was film correspondent for the Daily Mail between 1925 and 1930, when she was fired for writing a negative review of a film by Elinor Glyn, a friend of the proprietor. In those five years she wrote hundreds if not thousands of articles for the paper.[4] Subsequently she emigrated to the United States; her marriage to Alan Porter did not long survive the move.[1]

The Film Society, the first of its kind, was launched in October 1925; she was one of its founders along with cinema owner Sidney Bernstein, film director Adrian Brunel, well-connected enthusiast Ivor Montagu, and fellow film critic Walter Mycroft.

She is best remembered as a curator at the Museum of Modern Art, which had opened in 1929. After immigrating to the United States in 1930, she founded the film study department in 1932,[1] with an archival collection of rare films, library of film-related books, and a film circulation program. She also collected films. She became an American citizen in 1941, and married John E. Abbott.

Barry wrote a book on moviegoing Let's Go to the Pictures (1926) and the scholarly classic D. W. Griffith: American Film Master (1940), and became a regular book reviewer for the New York Herald Tribune.

In 1949, she was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor[1] by the French government, in recognition of her services to French cinema.

She died 22 December 1969, in Marseilles.[1]

MoMA's Film Library edit

The cinema studies scholar Haidee Wasson argues that under Barry's direction the MoMA's Film Library, the first American institution of film art, created the cultural and intellectual climate that allowed "selected films to become visible to an emergent public under the rubrics of art and history," served as a "promulgator of discourses about cultural value and productive leisure," and consequently defined "what objects and media matter within the politics of cultural value and visual knowledge".[5] Wasson further details MoMA's director's Alfred Barr and Iris Barry's continuous struggle to affirm the cultural status and value of cinema to powerful museum benefactors and to win over Hollywood film studios' support in order to elevate cinema's status to that of a unique American art form.[6] Wasson elaborates on MoMA's Film Library's effort to create modern audience for art cinema by employing overt disciplinary strategies. The staff of the Film Library, and sometimes Barry herself, carefully monitored the spectator's behavior in the cinematic salon, sanctioning improper conduct (e.g. rowdiness, excessive chatter or laughter during screening etc.) by, at times, even terminating the film screening altogether. These strategies, Wasson argues, sought to mold a new form of cinematic audience by instilling the values of "educated film viewing and studious attention".[7]

Through her work at MoMA's Film Library, Barry gained recognition as one of the founding figures of the film preservation movement alongside Henri Langlois (in France) and Ernest Lindgren (in Great Britain).[8]

On October 10, 2014, MoMA presented an illustrated talk by Robert Sitton, author of Lady in the Dark: Iris Barry and the Art of Film.[9]

Works edit

  • Splashing into society. London: Constable, 1923
  • Let's Go to the Movies (pdf via Internet Archive)
  • D. W. Griffith: American Film Master. Museum of Modern Art. 1 January 2002. ISBN 978-0-87070-683-7. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  • American Library Association; Iris Barry; Warner Bros. Pictures(1923-1967) (1946). The motion picture: a selected booklist. Retrieved 24 June 2013.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • The Ezra Pound Period. The Bookman. October 1931.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Sicherman, Barbara; Green, Carol Hurd, eds. (1980). "Barry, Iris". Notable American Women: The Modern Period: A Biographical Dictionary. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. pp. 56–58. ISBN 978-0-674-62733-8.
  2. ^ Paula Camacho (2019). "Returning to “Ezuversity”: Feminism and Emancipation in the Letters of Ezra Pound to Forgotten Modernist Iris Barry, 1916-1917". ATLANTIS Journal of the Spanish Association of Anglo-American Studies
  3. ^ Yolanda Morató (2008). "Iris Barry, a forgotten pioneer: from Modernist London to New York MoMA". Women's Worlds. Universidad Complutense de Madrid.[full citation needed]
  4. ^ Henry K. Miller (2024). "In Northcliffe Jail: Iris Barry, Film Journalist". Journal of Early Popular Visual Culture
  5. ^ Wasson (2005), p. 7.
  6. ^ Wasson (2005), pp. 110–149.
  7. ^ Wasson (2005), pp. 168–182.
  8. ^ Houston, Penelope (1994). Keepers of the Frame: The Film Archives. London: British Film Institute.[pages needed]
  9. ^ MoMA Member Calendar, October 2014[full citation needed]

Works cited edit

Wasson, Haidee (2005). Museum Movies: The Museum of Modern Art and the birth of art cinema. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 9780520241312.

Further reading edit

  • Camacho, Paula (2017). "The Dehumanizing of Modern Life: Iris Barry on Metropolis". Revista Anglo Saxonica. III (14): 107.
  • Elligott, Michelle; Silver, Romy (2010). "Modern Women: A Partial History". In Butler, Connie (ed.). Modern Women: Women Artists at the Museum of Modern Art. New York: Museum of Modern Art. p. 514. ISBN 9780870707711.
  • Hankins, Leslie K. (2004). "Iris Barry, Writer and Cineaste, Forming Film Culture in London 1924-1926: the Adelphi, the Spectator, the Film Society, and the British Vogue". Modernism/Modernity. 11 (3): 488–515. doi:10.1353/mod.2004.0057. S2CID 145197198.
  • Henson, Bruce (1997). "Iris Barry: American Film Archive Pioneer". The Katharine Sharp Review. 4: 1–6. hdl:2142/78250.
  • Meyers, Jeffrey (1984). "New Light on Iris Barry". Paideuma. 13 (2): 285–289. JSTOR 24723118.
  • Miller, Henry K. (2024). "In Northcliffe Jail: Iris Barry, Film Journalist". Journal of Early Popular Visual Culture. doi:10.1080/17460654.2024.2305492.
  • Sitton, Robert (2014). Lady in the Dark: Iris Barry and the Art of Film. New York: Columbia University Press. doi:10.7312/sitt16578. ISBN 9780231165785.
  • Wasson, Haidee (2006). "The Woman Film Critic: Newspapers, Cinema and Iris Barry". Film History. 18 (2): 154–162. doi:10.2979/FIL.2006.18.2.154. JSTOR 3815632. S2CID 194069701.

External links edit

  • Works by Iris Barry at Project Gutenberg
  • Works by Iris Barry at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)  
  • Iris Barry at British Film Institute website
  • "Iris Barry: Re-View", MoMA
  • Alan Porter, poet
  • The Film Society (1925 - 1939): a guide to collections; British Film Institute national library

April 27, 2024
iris, barry, 1895, december, 1969, film, critic, curator, 1920s, helped, establish, original, london, film, society, first, curator, film, department, museum, modern, york, city, 1935, borniris, sylvia, crump1895washwood, heathdied, 1969, december, 1969marseil. Iris Barry 1895 22 December 1969 was a film critic and curator In the 1920s she helped establish the original London Film Society and was the first curator of the film department of the Museum of Modern Art New York City in 1935 Iris BarryBornIris Sylvia Crump1895Washwood HeathDied 1969 12 22 December 22 1969Marseilles FranceNationalityBritish AmericanOccupationfilm criticKnown forcurator at the Museum of Modern Art Contents 1 Life 2 MoMA s Film Library 3 Works 4 References 4 1 Works cited 5 Further reading 6 External linksLife editBarry was born Iris Sylvia Crump in the Washwood Heath district of Birmingham England She was the daughter of Alfred Charles Crump and Annie Crump She studied at the Ursuline convent Verviers Belgium 1 She moved to London in 1916 or 1917 where she met Ezra Pound and attended Ezuversity that is Ezra Pound s programme through which he educated young male and female poets on the art of reading and writing In the letters Pound wrote to her among many other things he encouraged her to emancipate herself to avoid marriage and to do something no other living person had done before 2 She had two children with Wyndham Lewis a boy in 1919 and daughter in 1920 1 According to scholar Yolanda Morato the avant garde had a very strong impact on her during this period the essence of her first book on the cinema as art is to be found in these years 3 As Barry spent the war years going to the cinema when she wrote her book Let s go to the pictures 1926 she explicitly stated Going to the pictures is nothing to be ashamed of p viii In 1923 she met the American poet Alan Porter 1899 1942 assistant literary editor of The Spectator and published a poem in the magazine in July 1923 During their engagement The Spectator also favorably reviewed her first novel Splashing into Society She and Porter were married on October 8 1923 the name Felix Porter appearing in the marriage record She began publishing film criticism in The Spectator in 1923 and was film correspondent for the Daily Mail between 1925 and 1930 when she was fired for writing a negative review of a film by Elinor Glyn a friend of the proprietor In those five years she wrote hundreds if not thousands of articles for the paper 4 Subsequently she emigrated to the United States her marriage to Alan Porter did not long survive the move 1 The Film Society the first of its kind was launched in October 1925 she was one of its founders along with cinema owner Sidney Bernstein film director Adrian Brunel well connected enthusiast Ivor Montagu and fellow film critic Walter Mycroft She is best remembered as a curator at the Museum of Modern Art which had opened in 1929 After immigrating to the United States in 1930 she founded the film study department in 1932 1 with an archival collection of rare films library of film related books and a film circulation program She also collected films She became an American citizen in 1941 and married John E Abbott Barry wrote a book on moviegoing Let s Go to the Pictures 1926 and the scholarly classic D W Griffith American Film Master 1940 and became a regular book reviewer for the New York Herald Tribune In 1949 she was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor 1 by the French government in recognition of her services to French cinema She died 22 December 1969 in Marseilles 1 MoMA s Film Library editThe cinema studies scholar Haidee Wasson argues that under Barry s direction the MoMA s Film Library the first American institution of film art created the cultural and intellectual climate that allowed selected films to become visible to an emergent public under the rubrics of art and history served as a promulgator of discourses about cultural value and productive leisure and consequently defined what objects and media matter within the politics of cultural value and visual knowledge 5 Wasson further details MoMA s director s Alfred Barr and Iris Barry s continuous struggle to affirm the cultural status and value of cinema to powerful museum benefactors and to win over Hollywood film studios support in order to elevate cinema s status to that of a unique American art form 6 Wasson elaborates on MoMA s Film Library s effort to create modern audience for art cinema by employing overt disciplinary strategies The staff of the Film Library and sometimes Barry herself carefully monitored the spectator s behavior in the cinematic salon sanctioning improper conduct e g rowdiness excessive chatter or laughter during screening etc by at times even terminating the film screening altogether These strategies Wasson argues sought to mold a new form of cinematic audience by instilling the values of educated film viewing and studious attention 7 Through her work at MoMA s Film Library Barry gained recognition as one of the founding figures of the film preservation movement alongside Henri Langlois in France and Ernest Lindgren in Great Britain 8 On October 10 2014 MoMA presented an illustrated talk by Robert Sitton author of Lady in the Dark Iris Barry and the Art of Film 9 Works editSplashing into society London Constable 1923 Let s Go to the Movies pdf via Internet Archive D W Griffith American Film Master Museum of Modern Art 1 January 2002 ISBN 978 0 87070 683 7 Retrieved 24 June 2013 American Library Association Iris Barry Warner Bros Pictures 1923 1967 1946 The motion picture a selected booklist Retrieved 24 June 2013 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link The Ezra Pound Period The Bookman October 1931 References edit a b c d e f Sicherman Barbara Green Carol Hurd eds 1980 Barry Iris Notable American Women The Modern Period A Biographical Dictionary Cambridge MA Harvard University Press pp 56 58 ISBN 978 0 674 62733 8 Paula Camacho 2019 Returning to Ezuversity Feminism and Emancipation in the Letters of Ezra Pound to Forgotten Modernist Iris Barry 1916 1917 ATLANTIS Journal of the Spanish Association of Anglo American Studies Yolanda Morato 2008 Iris Barry a forgotten pioneer from Modernist London to New York MoMA Women s Worlds Universidad Complutense de Madrid full citation needed Henry K Miller 2024 In Northcliffe Jail Iris Barry Film Journalist Journal of Early Popular Visual Culture Wasson 2005 p 7 Wasson 2005 pp 110 149 Wasson 2005 pp 168 182 Houston Penelope 1994 Keepers of the Frame The Film Archives London British Film Institute pages needed MoMA Member Calendar October 2014 full citation needed Works cited edit Wasson Haidee 2005 Museum Movies The Museum of Modern Art and the birth of art cinema Berkeley University of California Press ISBN 9780520241312 Further reading editCamacho Paula 2017 The Dehumanizing of Modern Life Iris Barry on Metropolis Revista Anglo Saxonica III 14 107 Elligott Michelle Silver Romy 2010 Modern Women A Partial History In Butler Connie ed Modern Women Women Artists at the Museum of Modern Art New York Museum of Modern Art p 514 ISBN 9780870707711 Hankins Leslie K 2004 Iris Barry Writer and Cineaste Forming Film Culture in London 1924 1926 the Adelphi the Spectator the Film Society and the British Vogue Modernism Modernity 11 3 488 515 doi 10 1353 mod 2004 0057 S2CID 145197198 Henson Bruce 1997 Iris Barry American Film Archive Pioneer The Katharine Sharp Review 4 1 6 hdl 2142 78250 Meyers Jeffrey 1984 New Light on Iris Barry Paideuma 13 2 285 289 JSTOR 24723118 Miller Henry K 2024 In Northcliffe Jail Iris Barry Film Journalist Journal of Early Popular Visual Culture doi 10 1080 17460654 2024 2305492 Sitton Robert 2014 Lady in the Dark Iris Barry and the Art of Film New York Columbia University Press doi 10 7312 sitt16578 ISBN 9780231165785 Wasson Haidee 2006 The Woman Film Critic Newspapers Cinema and Iris Barry Film History 18 2 154 162 doi 10 2979 FIL 2006 18 2 154 JSTOR 3815632 S2CID 194069701 External links editWorks by Iris Barry at Project Gutenberg Works by Iris Barry at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp Iris Barry at British Film Institute website Iris Barry Re View MoMA Alan Porter poet The Film Society 1925 1939 a guide to collections British Film Institute national library Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Iris Barry amp oldid 1217482679, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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