Edna M. Barnes (1916-2013) American, Oil on Canvas Landscape. Shows a large tree beside a river with two boats on its edge, with a wooden fence in the forefront. Signed and dated '60 bottom right. 

Overall Size: 25 1/4 x 31 1/4 in. 

Sight Size: 17 1/4 x 25 1/4 in. 

#8329 

Edna M. Barnes was born in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania in 1916. She never had children or married and lived almost her entire life in the vicinity of her birthplace. After graduating from Elizabethtown High School in 1933 she studied education, art, and composition at Elizabethtown College, graduating in 1937. She became a second-grade teacher for the local school district for the next forty years. Her first love was music, and she taught herself to play both the violin and viola. She played the viola for the Lancaster, Harrisburg, and Hershey Symphony Orchestras for a total of fifty-five years, and gave lessons in her home on both instruments. She was a member of the All-American Chorus and spent one summer giving concerts in Europe, singing a solo at the World’s Fair in Brussels in 1958. Edna was a life-long member of Christ Church United Church of Christ, serving as the choir director for twenty-three years, as well as the organist and pianist. When she retired from teaching in the late 1970s, she began to spend more time in nature, frequently painting in oils and exploring a variety of crafts. She joined the Board of Directors for the Gretna Theater in nearby Mount Gretna, and spent her final years donating all her time, money, and energy to arts organizations. She passed away in 2013.