Gannochy
1980s and 90s
The paintings and works on paper shown here reflect the landscape and daily life at Gannochy, Derald and Janet Ruttenberg’s Scottish Highland estate.
The garden at Gannochy
Janet Ruttenberg working on Garden Painting — John Flemming Gardener, 1985
Strawberries from Gannochy Kitchen Garden Still Life, n.d., Oil on canvas
Flowers, Gannochy, n.d., Watercolor on paper
Potato Plants Gannochy, n.d., Watercolor and pencil on paper
Echoes of Claude Monet’s Giverny home resonate throughout Gannochy—from the yellow dining room featuring Janet’s egg prints, to the garden, which became a natural stage for painting en plein air.
Egg prints in the yellow living room at Gannochy
Ruttenberg painting on the moors, Gannochy, 1980s. In addition to painting outdoors, Janet had converted an abandoned shepherd’s cottage five miles from the house into a studio and installed an etching press there.
In Scotland, Janet kept an old station wagon which she used to carry equipment between painting locations. Derald affectionately nicknamed it the "Paint Mobile." One day, after securing an 82” x 52” canvas to the roof, the wind caught hold of it as she drove over a large hill.
"It turned into a Wright brothers moment—we briefly took flight before crashing together into a stone wall," recalls Ruttenberg.
Hunt Hill, oil sketch
Among the many themes and figures that are present in Janet Ruttenberg’s work, none is more constant than her husband, Derald. At Gannochy, Janet paints the rhythms of his world: His love of fly fishing and grouse shooting, his time with family and his beloved dog.
Janet painting on the hill, Gannochy, 1986
Derald grouse shooting, 1986
Derald Gwynn Fireplace
Tessa after the Shoot, Hunthill, 1989, Oil on canvas
Still Life with Pheasant, Gannochy, n.d.
Garden Painting — John Flemming Gardener, 1985, photographed in the Beekman living room
Salmon Ladder, Gannochy, Oil on canvas, n.d.
Detail of Salmon Ladder