CORNELIS RUHTENBERG, the wife of Jules Kirschenbaum, was born in Riga, Latvia in 1923. An artist primarily interested in figurative and still-life painting, Ruhtenberg studied at the Hochschule für Bildende Kunst (University of Fine Arts) in Germany from 1941 to 1946. Two years later she immigrated to the United States.

This painting tells the story of Cornelis Ruhtenberg leaving Latvia and her journey to America during a time of war. After settling in the USA, Ruhtenberg became active as an artist in New York, Colorado, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. From 1950-59, Ruhtenberg taught at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1956, she married Jules Kirschenbaum, who was also a professor of art at Drake. In 1962, her work was part of the group exhibition Recent Painting USA: The Figure at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Cornelis Ruhtenberg died in 2008. Her work is represented in the permanent collections of the Berlin Museum (Germany); Hirshhorn Museum (Washington D.C.); Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington D.C.); Palm Springs Art Center (CA); Denver Art Museum (CO); and Oklahoma City Museum of Art (OK).