Farndon was a child when his parents immigrated to the United States. He attended the Academy school from 1901 to 1903 studying under Edgar M. Ward, and for fourteen years studied architecture nights at the Mechanics Institute. With fellow Academy students Maurice Sterne, Jonas Lie, and others, Farndon was a member of the Country Sketch Club led by Van Dearing Perrine, and participated in the Club's exhibition of 1902. During this period he worked for the Alexander Smith Carpet Company in Yonkers, New York, designing carpets in order to pay for his schooling. Despite his background in design, Farndon was a life-long specialist in landscape painting. He lived and worked in Douglaston, New York, from about 1915 to 1960 when he moved to Valley Stream.
Farndon served on the Academy Council 1937-38, and from 1942 to 1944, when he was elected assistant corresponding secretary, a position to which he was reelected annually through 1948.
