Iris Barry
Encyclopedia
Iris Barry was the founder of the film department of the Museum of Modern Art
in New York City
in 1935. Barry was a film critic, and an early proponent of relating cinema to sociology, mythology, and genre.
She was born and educated in the United Kingdom where she became one of the first female film critics. From 1923 to 1930, she wrote for The Spectator
, and was film editor for the Daily Mail
from 1926 to 1930. Barry wrote a popular book on moviegoing Let's Go to the Pictures (1926).
She is probably best remembered as a curator at the Museum of Modern Art
, which had opened in 1929. After coming to the United States in 1935, she founded the film study department, with an archival collection of rare films, library of film-related books, and a film circulation program.
Iris Barry also wrote the scholarly classic D. W. Griffith: American Film Master and became a regular book reviewer for the New York Herald Tribune
.
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1935. Barry was a film critic, and an early proponent of relating cinema to sociology, mythology, and genre.
She was born and educated in the United Kingdom where she became one of the first female film critics. From 1923 to 1930, she wrote for The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
, and was film editor for the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
from 1926 to 1930. Barry wrote a popular book on moviegoing Let's Go to the Pictures (1926).
She is probably best remembered as a curator at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, which had opened in 1929. After coming to the United States in 1935, she founded the film study department, with an archival collection of rare films, library of film-related books, and a film circulation program.
Iris Barry also wrote the scholarly classic D. W. Griffith: American Film Master and became a regular book reviewer for the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
.