Barbara Kes Farnham

Barbara Kes Farnham, January 26^th 1926 – December 8^th 2020.

Our dear mother and grandmother, Barbara Kes Farnham, was born January 26^th, 1926 in Lyndhurst, NJ.  She grew up in Ridgewood, NJ and started painting at age 15. Within four years, she was invited to show several paintings at the Ridgewood Art Association and soon began winning awards for her portraits, still-life and landscapes.

Barbara studied with a number of local and New York artists and attended Syracuse University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude from the School of Fine Arts in Painting and Illustration. She was elected a member of Tau Sigma Delta, Architecture and Allied Arts Honorary. Barbara went on to work as a graphic artist for Norcross, Inc. in New York City and then did freelance commercial illustration, including watercolor and pen and ink drawings for several books. Barbara taught painting classes and became manager of the Ridgewood Art Association. She also served for a period as president of the Delaware Valley Artists.

Among Barbara’s many accomplishments is the creation of a series of religious murals for the West Side Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood. Barbara’s paintings are in collections both here and abroad, including that of Ann Miller of “Sugar Babies” and her painting “Sheep in the Meadow”, a Kingwood scene, at the Justice Center in Flemington, NJ. She also authored and illustrated two books:  Sheep – Let Nature Be Your Guide and Kingwood Township of Yesteryear.

Having a keen eye and passion for art, it was Alexander Farnham’s paintings that caught Barbara’s attention before he did. Shortly after meeting at one of Alexander’s art shows, Barbara and Alexander attended an artist retreat together where their relationship began. Alexander proposed to Barbara on Mohegan Island, and they were married in a small ceremony on December 5^th 1953. After a honeymoon in the Poconos, they moved to their charming and beloved farmstead, Farnham Studio Farm, in Kingwood Township where Barbara would reside for the next 67 years. (Alexander passed away in 2017.)

Barbara was a thoughtful, dedicated and loving wife. She would read novels to Alexander at the dinner table and in the evenings as Alexander washed the day’s paint brushes in their powder room. She also worked with Alexander on his books of art and antique tools, editing and doing layouts and mechanicals.

Together Barbara and Alexander raised four strong and independent daughters, Barbara, Susan, Vivian and Alexandra. With an interest in health and nutrition, Barbara fed her family organic, home-grown food when many families of that generation were eating margarine, Kool-Aid and spam. She began raising her own organic vegetables well before most and made home-made ice cream, wine, vinegar, pickles, relish, tomato juice, applesauce and yogurt. Family time and meals were very important. Attendance from her girls was expected at breakfast, lunch and dinner, or rather breakfast, dinner and supper as she often corrected. She raised her daughters to be down-to-earth, self-sufficient and creative, encouraging gardening, sheep husbandry, painting and drawing.

In the 1960s Barbara developed an interest in raising Dorset sheep to provide her family with the healthy meat. She designed and built sheds for her sheep and kept charts of their genealogy, so she could develop a breeding program. In addition, Barbara became a fiber artist, carding, spinning, dyeing and weaving the wool of her sheep to make sweaters, dolls, hats, decorative pillow shams and rugs.

After their children left for college or married, Barbara and Alexander indulged in long painting trips in New England, and delighted in the companionship of their beloved grandchildren and great grandchildren, Danielle, Alexander, Sara, Scott, Holly, Darius, Thomas, Jasper, Greyson, Rowen and Harrison. Barbara thrived as a grandmother. She was loving, kind and generous and became the go-to for treatment of scrapes, cuts and splinter-removal. She would gather her growing family for delicious holiday meals and share her love of art, gardening, cooking and animals.

Barbara lived simply. She was a no-frills type of girl. She never had a microwave, and she resisted having a television for many years until her daughter, Vivian, snuck one into the house. In a time when women were expected follow the lead of the men in their lives, she formed her own independent opinions. She never tried to fit in or impress others. She was strong, determined and resilient. She lived an extraordinary and full life, rich with family, art and love. As she looks down on all of us, may she continue to be our strength and our guide in the pursuit of a life as full as hers.

Private life celebration services and interment are under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.

At these times, memories and stories are of extreme importance. Please visit Barbara’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.

Acknowledging Barbara’s love for animals, those wishing to make a contribution in her honor may do so to Tabby’s Place, 1100 US Highway 202, Ringoes, NJ 08551 (or you may make a contribution online by clicking HERE).

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”