Ammi Merchant Farnham

Ammi Merchant Farnham was a portrait, landscape and figures painter and etcher, working primarily in oil and watercolor. He was born January 23, 1846 in Silver Creek, New York, and began painting at age 12.[1] Farnham studied at the Royal Academy of Bavaria under Frank Duveneck, as well as at the Munich Academy at the age of 18.[2] Upon returning home, Farnham worked as curator for the Buffalo Academy of Fine Arts.[3] He exhibited his professional portraits nationally, in cities including San Francisco, New York and Chicago.

Farnham settled in San Diego in 1886 but continued to visit Buffalo regularly during his various travels to Europe. In 1915, he exhibited at the Panama-California Exposition, where he received the silver medal.[4] Farnham died on July 20, 1922.  His work was featured posthumously in the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition.[5] Some of his works are currently held at the San Diego Historical Society, the San Diego Museum of Art and the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society.