Birgitta Kathleen Moran Farmer (May 23, 1881 – January 17, 1939) was an American artist particularly known for her
portrait miniature
A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting from Renaissance art, usually executed in gouache, Watercolor painting, watercolor, or Vitreous enamel, enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illumin ...
s.
Life
Birgitta Moran was born in
Lyons, New York.
She attended Lyons Public School and graduated from the Convent of the Sacred Heart in
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
.
A graduate of the College of Fine Arts of
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
and a member of
Gamma Phi Beta's Alpha Chapter, she won the 1906 Hiram Gee Award in Painting at commencement.
[Bulletin of Syracuse University (April 1907), Page 132](_blank)
/ref>
She used the award to study at Académie Julian
The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...
and Académie de la Grande Chaumière Paris during 1906–1907.[Birgitta Moran Farmer Diary, entry 3 October 1906, owned by family]MacMillan Company, 1927, American Art Annual, Volume 24 ;Volume 26
/ref> Among other places, she roomed at the American Girls' Club in Paris.
She married Dr. Thomas Patrick Farmer of Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...
in 1913.[The Lyons Republican (Friday, August 29, 1913), Page 7](_blank)
/ref> They had four children. She exhibited with the Brooklyn Society of Miniature Painters,[The Art News, Vol. 22, no. 23. (1924). The Art News (1923-), 22(23), page 11]
American Society of Miniature Painters,[Twenty Fourth Annual Exhibition of the American Society of Miniature Painters New York February 6th-March 10th inclusive: M. Knoedler & Co., 1923. Thomas Watson Library accessed September 11, 201]
[The Art News, Vol. 22, no. 16. (1924). The Art News (1923-), 22(16), page 1.]
the Pennsylvania Society of Miniature Painters,[The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts presents The Thirty-seventh Annual Philadelphia Water Color and Print Exhibition, and the Thirty-eight Annual Exhibition of Miniatures, by Philadelphia Water Color Club and the Pennsylvania Society of Miniature Painters, Oct 22-Nov 26, 1939, 2nd Edition.] the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, and the Associated Artists of Syracuse.[The Art News, Vol. 21, no. 38. (1923). The Art News (1923-), 21(38), page 10]
/ref> She died in 1939 in Syracuse, New York, of cancer, aged 57.
Art
Farmer's work, including her 1924 self-portrait, was exhibited at the 24th and 25th Annual Exhibition of American Society of Miniature Painters and the Pennsylvania Society of Miniature Painters's 38th Annual Exhibition.
Her portraits of Briget Amelia Moran (nee Fitzpatrick) titled "Mother" and of Anna V. Dunn titled "Mrs. Hugh Edward McSloy" were exhibited at the 1921 Annual Water Colors and Miniature Exhibitions of The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.[Annual Water Colors and Miniature Exhibitions Catalogue, by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1921, page 19. Accessed October 22, 202]
Her portrait of her daughter "Anne" was included in the 1933 Chicago World's Fair Century of Progress "Exhibition of Miniature Paintings by Living Artists",[Catalog of an Exhibition of Miniature Paintings by Living Artists, A Century of Progress, General Exhibits Building, Graphic Arts Pavilion (Chicago World’s Fair) May 27- Oct 31, 1933, page 29. The Met: Watson Library Digital Collections Accessed December 31 202]
/ref> The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5.36 million v ...
"Four Centuries of Miniature Painting",[Four Centuries of Miniature Painting: A Special Exhibition, Including Loans from Museums and Private Collections and Examples from the Museum's Own Collection, Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the American Society of Miniature Painters, Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 19 – March 19, 1950 page 15. Thomas Watson Library Accessed September 11, 201]
and the Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...
National Collection of Fine Arts.[Smithsonian Institution, National Collection of Fine Arts, April 1950.]
Farmer is included in the National Portrait Gallery (United States) Catalog of American Portraits,[" target="_blank" class="mw-redirect" title="Smithonsian Collection Search Center accessed September 11, 2016">Smithonsian Collection Search Center accessed September 11, 2016]
/ref> the National Portrait Gallery Library [National Portrait Gallery Catalog of American Portraits File "Brigitta Moran Farmer (Mrs. Thomas P. Farmer)" N.B. Misspelled first nam]
/ref> and the Archives of American Art
The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...
.[Archives of American Art: Anna Margaretta Archambault selected papers, a. 1880-1946accessed June 2, 201]
/ref>
Her art was often signed “B K Moran”, “Moran”, or “B M Farmer”.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farmer, Birgitta Moran
1881 births
1939 deaths
20th-century American painters
American portrait miniaturists
Académie Julian alumni
Alumni of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière
People from Lyons, New York
Artists from Syracuse, New York
20th-century American women painters
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)