Jack Rutberg is owner and director of Jack Rutberg Fine Arts, Pasadena, California, a gallery  dealing in Modern and Contemporary art. In that capacity he has acted as dealer, curator, and consultant for some 50 years, representing a wide range of important American and European artists.

Established in 1979 at its former La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles location, the Rutberg Gallery featured exhibitions by gallery represented artists Jordi Alcaraz, Hans Burkhardt, Patrick Graham, Reuben Nakian, George Nama, Ruth Weisberg, Jerome Witkin and Francisco Zuniga in addition to a wide range of solo exhibitions of major international artists: Alexander Calder, Oskar Fischinger, Sam Francis, Arshile Gorky, George Herms, Hundertwasser, Käthe Kollwitz, Georges Rouault, Edward Ruscha, Antoni Tapies, Max Weber and others. The gallery moved to its new location in Pasadena, California in December, 2022.

Mr. Rutberg has lectured extensively on a wide range of subjects related to Modern and Contemporary art in colleges and universities, including the University of California Los Angeles, California State University Northridge, Utah State University, Pierce College, Fullerton College, Orange Coast College, and Rancho Santiago College. Museums for which Mr. Rutberg has been a guest speaker include the Douglas Hyde in Dublin, the Crawford Museum in Cork, Ireland, Portland Art Museum in Oregon, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Long Beach Museum of Art, Fresno Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Laguna Art Museum, the Newport Harbor Art Museum, Arkansas Arts Center and the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum in Utah. In addition, he has been a frequent speaker at symposiums for numerous private and civic organizations, as well as, on radio and television. Mr. Rutberg has been featured and often quoted in local, national and international publications.

Beginning in 1990 Mr. Rutberg served for twelve years as curator for the Galway International Arts Festival in Ireland presenting annual exhibitions at the University College Gallery in Galway. In addition to being a frequent lender of works to museum exhibitions, Mr. Rutberg has served as guest curator for several institutions both in the U.S. and abroad. He has also served as juror for several art invitationals.

Mr. Rutberg has served on the boards of the Art Dealers Association of California, Los Angeles Art Galleries (LAAG), the Committee For Cultural Tourism of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau (LACVB), an advisory committee for the College Arts Association, and the Laguna Art Museum Collections Committee. He has previously served on the advisory boards of the California State University San Bernardino Art Gallery and the Graphic Arts Council and the Modern and Contemporary Art Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

As a collector, Mr. Rutberg’s personal collection reflects the same eclectic range of interests represented in his gallery. His collection includes 19th century European symbolists, including what is among the most extensive collections of works on paper by Henri Fantin-Latour, as well as works by modern and contemporary artists.

Credited with bringing significant artists to broader public attention, Mr. Rutberg has been particularly responsible for the formidable attention afforded to the Irish contemporary painter Patrick Graham and Swiss born American painter Hans Burkhardt (1904-1994). Both artists are represented internationally by Jack Rutberg Fine Arts. Mr. Rutberg is the exclusive agent for The Hans G. & Thordis W. Burkhardt Foundation. Regarded as an authority on their works, Mr. Rutberg has on frequent occasions lectured on both artists at numerous museums.

Mr. Rutberg has published catalogues on the works of Hannelore Baron, Hans Burkhardt, Claire Falkenstein, and Patrick Graham. In addition to his own publications he has written the introduction to a book on Patrick Graham, published in Ireland by Gandon Editions and introductory text on the Käthe Kollwitz catalogue published for the University College Gallery exhibition in Galway, Ireland.

Mr. Rutberg has published extensively on the works of Hans Burkhardt. Among the many catalogues published to date on Burkhardt, Mr. Rutberg has written the catalogue raisonné, Hans Burkhardt: The War Paintings, published by Santa Susana Press, California State University Northridge. Documented are Burkhardt’s paintings created in response to war, spanning the Spanish Civil War through the mid 1980’s. Other publications include Hans Burkhardt: Desert Storms, Burkhardt’s response to the Iraq Kuwait conflict, published in 1991, and Black Rain documenting Burkhardt’s final works dating from 1993 and most recently, Hans Burkhardt: Paintings of the 1960s.

The gallery has been particularly noteworthy for its emphasis on education, presenting numerous lectures and panel discussions. Through that endeavor, Jack Rutberg Fine Arts is an important resource for established and beginning collectors, art historians, and museums internationally.

Mr. Rutberg was the recipient at the L.A. Artcore 5th Annual Award “For Outstanding Contribution to the Arts,” and The Hollywood Arts Council “Charlie Award.”