TRIBUTES BY ELISABETH LEBOVICI ELENI SIKELIANOS FRANCESO RAPAZZINI SUZETTE ROBICHON
CASSANDRA LANGER GIULIA NAPOLEONE MELANIE HAWTHORNE SUZANNE RODRIGUEZ
JEAN CHALON FELICIA VITI MONA KHADEMI SUZANNE STROH
CONGRATULATIONS TO NATALIE BARNEY ON REISSUE OF HER CLASSIC BOOK OF EPIGRAMS AND ESSAYS
April 14, 2021
Let’s lose the watch and live by the pulse alone!
Natalie Barney
Natalie Clifford Barney (1876 - 1972)
Author, Poet, Saloniste
2022 50th anniversary of her death in Paris
50 Years - France 
2026 150th anniversary of her birth in Ohio
150 years - USA 
OUR MISSION:
Rediscovering the Legend
This year, we honor the eternal cultural impact made by two European-American sisters,
buried together in the exclusive necropolis of Paris, France
under a bower of chestnut trees in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
“We're committed to this amazing lesbian Cultural legacy that spans the Atlantic. We're building authentic connections with new audiences around the world.”
SUZANNE STROH, Creative Director
Events
At the Tomb of Laura and Natalie Barney
by Suzanne Stroh
When was the last time you paid a visit to the cemetery at Passy in the sixteenth arrondissement? In the shade of chestnut trees, the remains of two extraordinary American Europeans lie here in eternal repose. This year, on special days, you will find the grave of Natalie and Laura Barney draped with a horseshoe wreath composed of flowers and plants that suit the occasion. In form and function, horseshoes seem a fitting tribute to these sisters born in the carriage age.
The horseshoe is a universally auspicious talisman, like many ironworks. The belief that horseshoes bring protection and good luck may have eighth century origins with Chaldean Assyrians, who associated its crescent shape with various moon goddesses.
Intellectuals and living lesbian poets agree: the lucky horseshoe is one of those eternal mysteries that inspires confidence.
“I have been reliably informed that it will bring me luck whether I believe in it or not.”
Arthur Koestler, quoting physicist Nils Bohr
“The O-mega, horseshoe, the cave of sound”
from “Artemis” by Olga Broumas (b. 1949)
From Beginning with O
Upcoming Events
The 50th anniversary of Natalie’s death in 1972 will bring new publications by and about Natalie, Laura and their circle. Stay tuned for more details. Perennial events in the family life cycle will include tributes to Laura’s and Natalie’s mother, Alice Pike Barney (1857-1931), to Laura’s husband Hippolyte Dreyfus (1873-1928), and to others.
Have a photo or a tribute of your own? We’d love to see it!
Email us at SuzanneS@NatalieCliffordBarney.com
Share your experience of the Tombe Barney on Twitter
in French @TombeBarney
in English @AmazonTomb
We're on Instagram @NatalieBarneyRueJacob
See you there!
Events 2022
February 2, 2022
Flowers will blanket the grave to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Natalie’s death in Paris in 1972. Scholars and authors will offer a musical tribute and readings of NCB's work. Notes from family and friends will be placed in the lantern.
Events 2021
April 15, 2021
A horseshoe wreath was laid to celebrate L’Imaginaire’s reissue of Natalie Barney’s book of epigrams and essays, Nouvelles pensées de l’Amazone. The book was first published in 1939 by Mercure de France. Éditions Ivrea brought out a paperback version in 1996.
Notes of congratulation by friends and family members were placed on the grave. Tributes were published here in French and in English.
To commend new publications by the author, the ideal composition should foreground the tuberose, a flower that held pride of place in Natalie’s house at 20, rue Jacob. Today, tuberoses are difficult to get out of season, and so the floral design that marks any such occasions will focus on recreating their fragrant atmosphere.
Celebration for this publication happened on April 23.
April 23, 2021
A profusion of lilies will drape the grave to honor the birthday of Élisabeth de Gramont (1875-1954). It was celebrated every year by the sisters (and their mother) who considered Lily part of the family. In 1918, Lily and Natalie made a secret marriage contract which they honored for life.
Tributes will be published here in French and in English, printed, and placed on the grave.
April 30, 2021
A horseshoe wreath of narcissus will be laid to honor of Natalie and Élisabeth de Gramont, who celebrated their anniversary on the morning of May 1 beginning in 1910 until Lily’s death in 1954. Receiving Lily for dinner on April 30, 1909 was one of Natalie’s first acts as hostess in her new home at 20, rue Jacob. Lily learned that she had a sixth sense for pleasure and stayed the night.
Tributes will be published here in French and in English, printed, and placed on the grave along with notes from friends and family.
May 1, 2021
Azaleas will be placed on the grave to honor the birthday of Romaine Goddard Brooks (1874- 1970). Chocolate cake on Romaine’s birthday was an annual event for the sisters, who considered Romaine part of the family. Romaine and Laura had apartments in the same building at 74, rue Raynouard.
From the afternoon they met in 1916, Natalie and Romaine were lovers for life, forming an extended family unit that had included Élisabeth de Gramont since 1909.
So, May 1 was a delicate balancing act for Natalie—whose attention had to be split between two spouses—and a day that called for mindfulness and extreme tact on the part of Laura and their mother, Alice, who always made a point of visiting Paris this time of the year.
Tributes will be published here in French and in English, printed, and placed on the grave along with notes from friends and family.
June 6, 2021
A horseshoe wreath of Greek laurels and native flowers will be laid to honor Eva Palmer Sikelianos (1874-1952), whom the sisters considered part of the family when they made their adult homes in Paris in 1901. Natalie and Eva lived together at 4, rue Chalgrin beginning in April 1903 and later moved to Neuilly. This occasion marks the date of Eva’s groundbreaking 1906 production of Natalie’s play Équivoque in the garden at Neuilly.
The production was a high point in the cultural flowering of a period in arts and literature that is often referred to as Sapho 1900. Poet Renée Vivien, buried nearby, played a significant role in this sapphic literary movement. She was also a family friend—and a one-time lover of Natalie.
Tributes will be published here in French and in English, printed, and placed on the grave.
August 18, 2021
A horseshoe wreath of seasonal flowers will be laid to honor Laura, who died on this date in 1974. For a lifetime of service to France, her adopted home for seventy years, Laura was named chevalier (1925) then officier (1937) of the Légion d’Honneur. Throughout her life, Laura was a peace activist at the vanguard, championing the rights of women and children at the United Nations, and promoting international recognition of the Baha’i faith.
Tributes will be published here in French and in English, printed, and placed on the grave along with notes from friends and family.
September 15, 2021
A horseshoe wreath of seasonal flowers will be laid to honor the anniversary of Natalie and Romaine, who became lovers for life on the day they met, probably September 12, 1916, at the Paris home of a family friend, the Marchioness of Anglesey.
Tributes will be published here in French and in English, printed, and placed on the grave.
October 31, 2021
Ivy will be placed on the grave in celebration of Natalie’s birthday. This date in 2021 is the 145th anniversary of Natalie’s birth in Dayton, Ohio. Every year since her death in 1972, ivy has been the traditional offering of Natalie’s friend Jean Chalon.
Tributes by Jean Chalon and others will be published here in French and in English, printed, and placed on the grave along with notes from friends and family.
Photo courtesy of University of Wisconsin Madison Special Collections Library (Renée Lang Papers). Used by permission.
November 30, 2021
A horseshoe wreath of seasonal flowers and berries will be laid on the grave in celebration of Laura’s birthday. This date in 2021 is the 142nd anniversary of Laura’s birth in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The newborn was named after her parents, Alice and Albert (called Clifford in the family), thus christened Alice Clifford Barney, although she was called Laura all her life.
Tributes will be published here in French and in English, printed, and placed on the grave along with notes from friends and family.
December 21, 2021
A holiday wreath will be laid to mark the winter solstice, bringing this year’s celebration cycle to a close. Readings and seasonal blessings will be published here in French and in English, printed, and placed on the grave along with notes from friends and family.