James Whitney Barney (1878-1948)
of 19 East 72nd Street, New York City; Vice-President of the Barney Estate Company
He was born in New York City, and after his education at Groton and Yale, he went on a tour of Europe (1900-01) with Freddie Havemeyer. He stayed in Paris where he studied for two to three years at the École des Beaux-Arts, but on returning to New York, rather than embarking on a long architectural career, from 1907 (until he retired in 1943) he was Vice-President of the Barney Estate Company, and with his brother, Ashbel, he was a partner in A.H. & J.W. Barney, Insurance. Privately, he was a connoisseur of Chinese Porcelain, a Member of the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects & Associates in Fine Arts (Yale), Curator of Drawings at the Yale University Art Gallery (with the rank of Assistant Professor), and a Member of the Board of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). In 1917, he enlisted as a First Lieutenant with the U.S. Infantry and was aide-de-camp to Generals Eben Johnson and William M. Wright, before being discharged with the rank of Captain in 1919. He was a member of the Knickerbocker and Links clubs, and died unmarried at his New York apartment in 19 East 72nd Street.
