This painting of Stargazer lilies was donated to the VA NY Harbor Healthcare Center on 23rd Street, along with three others, in spring 2014. Ruta is a combat wounded vet of the Second World War, with the infantry on Bataan in 1945. The VA has looked after him in recent years, at this New York branch. The reason to mention this is because at the brief ceremony organized for the reception of the paintings, the VA invited art historian Phillip Gould, also a veteran, to speak about the work. He had done a quick survey and decided that the term that best describes Ruta as a painter is “lyrical luminist.”
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