Barbara Ann Hannemann

BARBARA ANN (VAN MARTER) HANNEMANN March 25, 1932 – June 6, 2024

Mom was an artist and now, after a lifetime painting a wide variety of subjects, at age 92 she has left us to paint the Cosmos. Happily, she left us an extensive body of work to enjoy for years and generations to come.

Mom’s art journey started at an early age – in her teen years she studied with artist Fritz Troutman at the Rochester Memorial Art Gallery.

Mom married Ralph B Hannemann in 1950 and in 1952 they moved to Los Alamos NM where Dad had a position at what was then Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. In the years 1952 – 1977 she became well known for her art – paintings of lakes she made on fishing trips, paintings of local architecture, and portraits of many of the kids who grew up here in the 50’s and 60’s.  The Los Alamos High School Class of 68 purchased her painting of  “Aspens” as a gift to the schools and which still hangs over the east door of the high school library. Also during this time she worked as a technical illustrator at LASL/LANL.

Ralph died in 1976 and Mom moved shortly thereafter to California where she lived until 1992. During this time she studied interior design at Woodbury College and coupled with her experience at LANL she secured a position at ARCO as a space planner/designer where she began working with an new technology called Computer Aided Design (CAD).  Her proficiency at this was such that ARCO sent her as their representative to IFMA programs at MIT and NEOCON in Chicago. Her expertise in the field was key at ARCO getting a new system to produce space plans and Facility data.  She worked on several of ARCO’s buildings worldwide including one in Jakarta, which she liked to refer to as “her” building – top to bottom, inside and out.

Through all this she continued her art studies and her painting constantly working to improve her art. She also began teaching private art lessons.

In 1992 she returned to NM settling in Corrales where she continued her painting and teaching and involvement with the local art community.  As a teen she had learned the importance of color and now she brought to its height her use of color, light, and shadow to create depth of field and contrast.  She is also remembered as a teacher and mentor who gave freely of knowledge.

In 2018 she moved to a retirement facility in Colorado and for the next 4 years she continued to paint and teach in-person and online.

She was preceded in death by husband Ralph (d.1976) and daughter, Dawn (d. 2022).

She is survived by her son, Richard of Los Alamos; grandsons Justin and Aymer both of Albuquerque, and great-grandson Jack.

Her funeral will be June 28 at 11 a.m. at Guaje Pines Cemetery with main services graveside followed by memorial reception at Bethlehem Lutheran Church where some of her various works can be viewed.

As an on-going project to collect all of her work, Richard is asking that anyone who has Barb’s work to please send a photo of it.