Laura Clifford Barney

Life & Legacy

Laura Dreyfus-Barney (born Laura Clifford Barney; 30 November 1879 – 18 August 1974) was a sculptor and a leading American Baháʼí teacher and philanthropist.
She was the daughter of Albert and Alice Pike Barney. Albert Clifford Barney was the son of a manufacturer of railway cars and was of English descent. Alice was of French, Dutch and German-Jewish ancestry, and was a socially prominent artist from Washington, D.C. Laura and her elder sister Natalie Clifford Barney were educated by private tutors. Laura became a leading American Baháʼí teacher and philanthropist. She is best known for having compiled the Baháʼí text Some Answered Questions from her interviews with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá during her visit to ʿAkkāʾ, Palestine, between 1904 and 1906.