Originally built near MacDowell's Union Street entrance, the Barnard Studio — which was funded by Barnard College music students — was re-located to its current site in 1910. When the small structure was moved, its size was doubled with the addition of a second room. This remodeling, financed by Mrs. Thomas E. Emery of Cincinnati, provided MacDowell with its first two-room studio. Barnard Studio was once often awarded to married artists who applied to be in residence together.
Since the studio’s renovation in 1995, the creation of an accessible bathroom has allowed the second room in Barnard to serve as a bedroom for an artist-in-residence.