She is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Art and Music at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice (City University of New York).

Farrington is a graduate of Howard University (BFA) and American University (MA), and subsequently obtained her MPh and PhD in Art History & philosophy at the CUNY Graduate Center in 1997 with a dissertation titled “Faith Ringgold: The Early Works & the Evolution of the Thangka Paintings”.

[2] Her 2005 book Creating Their Own Image was the first comprehensive history of African-American female artists, from slavery to the present day.

[3] In 2009, she received a grant from Creative Capital Art and the Andy Warhol Foundation to work on a monograph on Emma Amos.

"[8] The exhibit included works by artists including Emma Amos, Siona Benjamin, Chakaia Booker, Judy Chicago, Susanne Kessler, Faith Ringgold, Aminah Robinson, Flo Oy Wong, and Helen Zughaib.