After the events of the Russian Revolution of 1917, young Iraida Barry settled in Istanbul, where she lived until her death. She is remembered today as one of the first female sculptors of the Turkish Republic.
While still a child and living in Crimea, Barry was interested in painting and planned to enter Imperial Academy of Arts of the Russian Empire. As a result of her exile, she studied at Sanayi-i Nefise (Imperial School/Academy of Fine Arts) in Istanbul, where she was taught by Ihsan Özsoy. Yet even before studying there, she took part in exhibitions of the Union of Russian Painters in Constantinople (where she met Dimitri Ismailovitch with whom was in close contact at least till 1927). For instance, her name is mentioned in one of the newspaper reports in connection with the exhibition in June 1923: “The field of sculpture is represented by very few objects, it is pleasant to note the small figurines by Barry, in which the talent and immediacy of perception can be felt, but these things, unfortunately, are spoiled by bad casting.” From 1929 to 1936 she took an active part in the Galatasaray exhibitions, and even presented her works in Paris. Many of Barry's works now belong to the Istanbul Museum of Art and Sculpture.
It is known that Barry was married to the famous dentist Albert Barry, who was fond of photography. The story of this émigré sculptress saw the light thanks to these photographs by her husband, that were found by chance in antiquarian shops in Istanbul. Barry also had a daughter who, due to her illness, needed constant care. In exchange for this care, Barry bequeathed all her property to Balıklı Rum Hospital in Istanbul. The daughter outlived her by only 12 years. As for Barry herself, she became mentally ill in the last years of her life. Iraida is buried at the Orthodox Christian cemetery in Şişli, Istanbul.
She is the author of Mirror Shards, her autobiographical texts written between 1951 and 1970 (now they are at the Bakhmeteff Archive of Russian and East European Culture in New York). In 2019, The Alexander Solzhenitsyn House of Russia Abroad in Moscow hosted the exhibition Iraida Barry (1899–1980) — Russian sculptor in Istanbul.