Bonnie Jeanne Faulkner, principal artist of B.J. Faulkner Gallery in Lenox, Massachusetts, as well as loving grandmother, mother, sister, and friend, departed this life on July 24, 2026. She passed peacefully on Cape Ann, Massachusetts, with her beloved son and daughter by her side. She was 83 years old.
Born on February 6, 1943, in Toledo, Ohio, the daughter of Robert and Marguerite Faulkner, “Dammy” (as her grandkids lovingly call her) was a force who forged her own path and lived her life passionately embracing the arts, instilling values of creativity and fierce independence in her children and grandchildren. A professional artist for over five decades, Faulkner’s paintings exhibit an extraordinary use of color and expressive lines. Her works appear to dance both on and off the canvas, evoking a sense of elegance through her charming and colorful interpretations of the world’s most loved and traveled cities and villages. Extensive European travel and living abroad in Portugal were primary inspirations.
Faulkner’s first two decades in Ohio grounded her in a strong artistic and musical practice. As a child, she was selected to attend Saturday morning classes at the Toledo Museum of Art. Later, she sang in the choir at Trinity Episcopal Church and modeled for Lamson Brothers’ teen board. In 1966, as Miss Toledo, Faulkner became a finalist in the Miss Ohio Pageant, winning the talent portion. Her scholarship to Maumee Valley Country Day School (MVCDS) and participation in Madrigal Singers and in Declamation expanded her horizons. An avid student of the French language and of English literature, she attended the University of Michigan, where she majored in vocal studies. She earned her B.A. in Choral Music Education from the University of Toledo. In 1965, Faulkner joined Bowling Green State University as an Associate Professor of Physical Education for Figure Skating and established the BG “Falconets,” a synchronized skating group.
Faulkner’s singing and acting career included over fifty leading roles in dramas, musicals, and operettas. She was especially proud of her roles as Valencienne in the Cleveland Opera’s “The Merry Widow” and her one-woman operatic monologue sung in French as Elle in Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine, for which she garnered the Critics’ Choice Award from The Guardian for her performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In Cleveland, Faulkner founded a downtown lunchtime chamber music series. She also abridged the opera Hansel and Gretel to perform it for inner-city children under The Young Audiences Arts for Learning program. After Faulkner moved to New York City in 1966, she became a member of The Light Opera of Manhattan and sang soprano for many of Bill Burke’s Gilbert and Sullivan productions. In NYC, she continued to model for various advertising agencies and starred as Julie in a short film that portrayed David and Julie Eisenhower.
1996 proved a pivotal year for Faulkner’s visual art as she established her flagship gallery, the B.J. Faulkner Gallery in Lenox, Massachusetts, and was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra to design the Tanglewood music festival poster. As an illustrator, Faulkner’s work has appeared on a range of products, from note cards to children's books for the publishers Prentice-Hall, Inc. In 1997, her depiction of Chicago’s Kinzie Park was showcased throughout Chicago, appearing on flags, promotional materials, and on an architectural mural. Faulkner’s exhibit at the Jacob Javitz Center’s Art Expo 1999 in New York City secured her a one-woman show of her musical and theatrical works at the Gallery at Lincoln Center later that year. In 2005, Faulkner was commissioned by United Airlines to create their signature European destination poster, a poster you can still see in airports throughout the world. In 2007, Faulkner was honored to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for her artistic talent from her alma mater MVCDS.
Faulkner relocated to Magnolia, Massachusetts, a coastal enclave in Cape Ann in 2009 to be near her daughter and grandchildren. Her son John and his family joined her for the summers. During her time on Cape Ann, she continued to paint, primarily compositions inspired by the local coastal scenes, and worked with clients on commissions of the same. She enjoyed sharing time with her family and watching the grandkids in their sports. She took pleasure in participating in their sailing regattas. She was a regular on Singing Beach with her family and friends. Her paintings will continue to be an inspiration for her family, her collectors and anyone who has the honor of viewing them.
Bonnie Jeanne Faulkner is survived by her daughter Amelia Burkhart of Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA (Mark Irose); son John Burkhart of Kolbotn, Norway (Alessandra Rinna); brother Robert Faulkner of Toledo, OH, and four beloved grandchildren: Meehan and Alden Irose and Anders Leonardo and Arno Robert Burkhart.
