Roger Sanger Barnes of Guilford, Connecticut, died on February 10, 2025 at St. Raphael’s Hospital in New Haven with family close by; he was 92.
A lifelong artist, sailor, and student of history, Roger was born in New York City on July 6, 1932. He attended elementary schools in New York City and Larchmont, New York, and graduated from Mamaroneck High School in 1950. Following a semester at Syracuse University, he signed on for six months as a merchant seaman on the El Patel, the Woolworth family’s approximately 175-ft yacht, which took him to many ports in the Mediterranean.
From 1951 to 1955 he studied drawing and painting at the Art Students League in NYC, working nights at various jobs to support himself, followed by work as a graphic designer. In 1968 he left New York City to teach art at Westover School in Middlebury, Conn. until 1978. From 1977 to 1991 he worked at The Taunton Press in Newtown, Conn., becoming the Art Director for Fine Woodworking and Fine Homebuilding magazines and rising to Design Director for all Taunton Press publications.
Roger spent much of his life looking—at seascapes, landscapes, buildings, people— all informed his art, which he continued to make throughout his working career and his retirement. His paintings and sculptures have been shown in solo and group shows in galleries and museums in Connecticut, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, stretching from 1954 to 2024.
Boats, sailing and the sea were a persistent thread in Roger’s life, prompting him to own and work on at least nine boats over the course of his adult life, both sail and power, all “old” boats, sometimes more than one at a time. His fascination with the water also led him to own houses overlooking the water, first in Carvers Harbor, Vinalhaven, Maine, and later, in Blue Rocks, Nova Scotia. Though Roger’s interest in history was broad, he was particularly interested in the period, issues and warnings involving World War II.
Roger is survived by his wife of 37 years Mary (Galpin) Barnes; his children Matthew Barnes (Nancy Reynolds) of Salem, OR; Anna Dotolo (Michael) of Naugatuck, CT; Stephen Barnes of Guilford, CT; Madeleine Barnes of Brighton, MA; his nephew Edward Boden, as well as great and great-great nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Edward L. and Sylvia Sanger Barnes, his sister Barbara Boden (Dale), and his first wife Gertrude Martin Barnes, from whom he was divorced.
A celebration of Roger’s life will be held in the future.
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