Weighing the Catch
By, Ralph Cahoon(Courtesy Antiques.com)
Martha Farham Cahoon(1905-1999)
Harwich, MA
Ralph Cahoon (1910-1982)
Chatham, MA
How do Ralph and Martha Cahoon relate to Charles D Cahoon?
Ralph Cahoon is a second cousin, twice removed from Charles D. Cahoon. Ralph (1910-1982) is widely recognized for his whimsical folk art. He came from Chatham. His wife Martha Farham Cahoon (1905-1999) also painted folk art in a fairly similar style. She was from Harwich. Their road to success is an interesting one.
Martha was born in Roslindale to Axel and Elma Farham, who were Swedish immigrants. Axel found work as a furniture decorator for relatives and became known for his talent. In 1915 the family with six sisters and a brother moved to Queen Anne Road in Harwich. This was a hardworking family of modest means supported by an increasing respected and sought after artisan. Much of his work was with large decorating companies in Boston.
After Martha graduated from Brooks Academy (now the museum) the family moved to Main St (Route 28) in West Harwich in 1922. Martha had excelled in school and always drew. She entered her father's business and in fact worked with him for ten years. In 1932, Harold Dunbar wrote in the Harwich Independent that Martha's decorative work was "probably unsurpassed in New England."
Ralph & Martha
Martha met a Chatham man, Ralph Cahoon, five years her junior, at a dance in 1930. Born on Cedar Street, Ralph played the lead in his high school class play but sketching was his main activity. In 1929 he was accepted into the School of Practical Art in Boston.
Ralph and Martha married in 1932. Martha taught Ralph the trade and by 1935 they bought a house in Osterville. Part of the house was a shop in which they sold antiques and their decorated furniture as well as other decorated items. Times were tough until the Second World War at which time Ralph painted battleships in the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy. With earnings from these years the Cahoons bought the Ebenezer Crocker house (built in 1775) in Santuit and largely restored it themselves
Successful Folk Artists
It was in 1953 that their lives changed dramatically. At the Country Art Gallery in Westbury Long Island the owner and wealthy art patroness, Joan Whitney Payson, suggested that they paint pictures that could be framed. Immediately finding customers, she gave them their first two-person show. They sold out as they did each year for 24 years!
Those years were of great productivity. Ralph and Martha had major exhibitions at Lobster Pot in Nantucket, Vose Galleries in Boston, Palm Beach Galleries, Heritage Plantation and many more. The Cahoons' clientele included Jackie Kennedy, Merriweather Post, Maxim Karolik, the Mellon and Dupont and many more. The auction records of today bear witness with Ralph's folk work going for over $200,000.
Ralph Cahoon is a second cousin, twice removed from Charles D. Cahoon. Ralph (1910-1982) is widely recognized for his whimsical folk art. He came from Chatham. His wife Martha Farham Cahoon (1905-1999) also painted folk art in a fairly similar style. She was from Harwich. Their road to success is an interesting one.
Martha was born in Roslindale to Axel and Elma Farham, who were Swedish immigrants. Axel found work as a furniture decorator for relatives and became known for his talent. In 1915 the family with six sisters and a brother moved to Queen Anne Road in Harwich. This was a hardworking family of modest means supported by an increasing respected and sought after artisan. Much of his work was with large decorating companies in Boston.
After Martha graduated from Brooks Academy (now the museum) the family moved to Main St (Route 28) in West Harwich in 1922. Martha had excelled in school and always drew. She entered her father's business and in fact worked with him for ten years. In 1932, Harold Dunbar wrote in the Harwich Independent that Martha's decorative work was "probably unsurpassed in New England."
Ralph & Martha
Martha met a Chatham man, Ralph Cahoon, five years her junior, at a dance in 1930. Born on Cedar Street, Ralph played the lead in his high school class play but sketching was his main activity. In 1929 he was accepted into the School of Practical Art in Boston.
Ralph and Martha married in 1932. Martha taught Ralph the trade and by 1935 they bought a house in Osterville. Part of the house was a shop in which they sold antiques and their decorated furniture as well as other decorated items. Times were tough until the Second World War at which time Ralph painted battleships in the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy. With earnings from these years the Cahoons bought the Ebenezer Crocker house (built in 1775) in Santuit and largely restored it themselves
Successful Folk Artists
It was in 1953 that their lives changed dramatically. At the Country Art Gallery in Westbury Long Island the owner and wealthy art patroness, Joan Whitney Payson, suggested that they paint pictures that could be framed. Immediately finding customers, she gave them their first two-person show. They sold out as they did each year for 24 years!
Those years were of great productivity. Ralph and Martha had major exhibitions at Lobster Pot in Nantucket, Vose Galleries in Boston, Palm Beach Galleries, Heritage Plantation and many more. The Cahoons' clientele included Jackie Kennedy, Merriweather Post, Maxim Karolik, the Mellon and Dupont and many more. The auction records of today bear witness with Ralph's folk work going for over $200,000.