"Cy" Farnum, as he was more generally known, was a son of Cyrus A. and Mary (Eddy) Farnum. The first of the name to settle in Rhode Island was John Farnum, a grandson of Ralph the immigrant, who moved from Uxbridge, Massachusetts to Georgiaville, Rhode Island.
He was a pupil of the Rhode Island School of Design. Farnum studied at the Academie Julian in Paris under Jean-Paul Laurens and (Benjamin) Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant where he won several awards for drawings. He also studied at Académie Colarossi in the evening, studying figure drawing under Jean-Léon Gérôme and Castaigne.
He also had the advantage of criticism from Adolphe William Bouguereau.
His most remarkable canvas of that period was his "Tarantella".
He became well known for his paintings of Algiers and other parts of Africa, as orientalism was a trend during this time period in American history. He was a descendant from old New England settlers who trace their history to Ralph and Alice Farnham of England who settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts. in 1635. in 1755. As a boy he gave evidence of the great talent that he later developed as an artist.
On July 21, 1896, a large landscape entitled "Piccolo Piazza, Ana Capri" was accepted by the Royal Academy of Arts, London, a distinction accorded few American artists.
Farnum returned abroad in April, 1904, when he was absent for 2 years which he spent in London, Paris and then in Madrid and Algiers and later spent considerable time in Italy, with special stay at Capri. Farnum belonged in the group of late 19thand early 20th-century artists in Rhode Island, and for years his studio in Butler Exchange was an important art centre in the city of Providence.
He painted many portraits of local politicians while occupying this studio. After pursuing his art studies in Paris he spent many years in travel and study abroad, following in the footsteps of Marcus Waterman, also a noted Rhode Island artist, in Northern Africa, winning a wide reputation for his African subjects.
He also painted a number of official portraits for city and state, some of which still hang in the Rhode Island state house and the city hall.
