GIRL ARCHITECT

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 11, 13 July 1931, Page 13

GIRL ARCHITECT

FAMOUS ART SCHOOL

A story of courage and a battle against heart-breaking odds is told by the "Sunday Express." A women has been admitted to the Royal Academy's famous art school —the .first for a hundred years. She is Miss Barbara Joan Caney, a beautiful^girl of 22 with dark, wavy hair, blue eyes, and a merry smile.

Miss Caney, who is an architect, struggled against lack of money and influence —and won. She had to fight the strong prejudice of architects against women entering their profession. She is winning. Sho sat at her drawing board until 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning. Then, after snatching a few hours' sleep, she caught a work: men's train from her home at Hammersmith, and at 7 o'clock in the morning, when London was just waking-up, Miss Caney was hard at work sketching St. Paul's Cathedral. A day's work at the office followed. It was a shy young: woman who related tin story of her career to an interviewer. "I tried to find employment in an architect's office, but it took me a year to find a job," she said.. "I could not understand why my applications for work were ignored by almost every architect J wrote to. After I had written about fifty applications in vain I had to- confess that matters wero shaping badly. ,

"Then I had an idea. Instead of, indicating that I was a girl I called myself, just 'B. J. Caney,' and then decided that a man's handwriting would complete the trick. I was delighted when I received letters addressed to me as Mr. B. J. Caney and starting 'Dear Sir.' Nobody could offer me work, but I was confident that my "ruse would succeed, and one day I was asked to call at tho office of an architect I had written to. .

"The architect was astonished and said there had been a misunderstanding, as he never employed women. I flared up and said there had been nothing of the sort. Before he could recover from his surprise I whipped out my drawings and put them in front of him. I knew t' ey were good, and I knew if I could only make him question me on them I should win. Ho.asked me a lot of questions, and finished by saying: 'Is there anything you don't know, young lady?' I was engaged—at 15s a week.

; "I continued my studies at home and at tho night school, and decided that I was going to have a shot at the Royal Academy. I submitted ton drawings to the Council of tho Academy, and was put on a three months' probationary course. I had to devote the. whole of tho time, to designing .a market place suitable for a town in Gloucestershire. My plans were approved, and now I am taking a five years' course at the Academy. There are twenty of us in the class., At first those nineteen men seemed aloof, but now the Academy seems to have accepted me, and I am happy." ■ <■