Ruth Flaherty Signed Oil Painting — New Mexico Mountain Farmstead Scene

A small, characterful palette-knife oil by Ruth Flaherty of Santa Fe, New Mexico, depicting a weathered farmstead tucked against blue mountain foothills. Two pitched-roof barns and a long pale outbuilding sit at the end of a winding dirt road, framed by a leaning tree in full leaf and a fenced approach with a red-flagged mailbox at the foreground turn. Flaherty worked the composition directly onto chipboard, allowing the random grain and chip pattern of the panel to read through as the texture of earth, sky, and distant ridgelines — an unusual support choice that gives the painting its warm, raw, earthen palette. Signed "Flaherty" lower right in black.

Per the artist's biographical card affixed verso, Ruth Flaherty trained in fine arts beginning in 1965 in West Germany, studying palette-knife oils for three years at the Wiesbaden Kunstschule under Kunstmeister Herr Herzfeld, graduating with distinction in 1968. She exhibited in juried shows in Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and Tucson, and was active in Artists Equity, the N.M. Art League, The Hungry Wee, and Los Llanos. Her studio address is given as 104 Calle Palomita, Santa Fe. The custom two-tier wood frame — outer rustic plank with a green-painted inner edge, linen liner, and warm inner fillet — was clearly chosen to complement the panel's earth tones.

CONDITION

Excellent. No damage noted to the paint surface or signature. Frame and linen liner present cleanly with light handling wear consistent with age.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall (framed): 11" H × 13" W × 1¼" D
• Visible image: 5⅝" H × 7⅝" W
• Medium: Oil on chipboard
• Signed: "Flaherty" lower right
• Artist: Ruth Flaherty, Santa Fe, NM (active 1965–)
• Frame: Solid wood, two-tier with linen liner