Rosemary Karuga was born in Meru, Kenya to a Ugandan father and Kenyan mother. She was a talented child, and this was quickly recognised by nuns at St. Theresa Primary School in Eastleigh, Nairobi. The nuns later recommended her to study at the prestigious Makerere University’s art school in Uganda. In 1950, she became the school’s first female student, leaving an indelible mark after graduation in 1952. R. Karuga briefly engaged in commercial art before returning to Kenya and instead embarking on teaching art at local primary schools. This prevented her practising her own art until her retirement in 1987, just before she turned sixty. However, in 1965, she participated in an artists’ workshop organised in Marangu, Tanzania by Elimo Njau (1932) and his Kibo Art Gallery.

R. Karuga reignited her artistic flame in the late 1980s, and began exploring alternative media due to the exorbitant costs of the supplies with which she had used during her studies. She discovered the potential of recycled paper, and from it created captivating Byzantine-inspired collages. With an appreciation of rural life, R. Karuga painstakingly depicted pastoral and domestic scenes using recycled packaging material, French-, English- and German-language newspapers and glossy magazines. In 1987, R. Karuga undertook an artistic residency at Paa Ya Paa Arts Centre, founded by E. and Rebeka Njau (1932) in Nairobi, Kenya, which garnered her work significant attention. She also participated in a group exhibition, Women in Art in East Africa (1987) at Paa Ya Paa and subsequently became one of the main artists at Gallery Watatu, showcasing her collages in most of the gallery’s shows.

Her talent transcended borders when, in 1988, she was commissioned by French directors Gilles Zaepffel and Paule Kingleur, whom she met at Paa Ya Paa, to create a large series of works illustrating The Palm-Wine Drinkard (1952). These collages, along with several “musical machines” designed by Claudine Brahem-Drouet, accompanied theatrical adaptations of the Nigerian writer Amos Tutuola’s  iconic novel by the Théâtre Écarlate in Limoges in 1988 and in Épinal the following year. This opportunity not only brought her international recognition but also opened doors to further exhibitions in the 1990s, including Contemporary African Artists: Changing Tradition, a group exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York in 1990. She was the sole female artist among a selection of nine African luminaries.

R. Karuga’s health declined during a visit to Ireland in 2006, preventing her return to Kenya. She persisted with her artistic practice, even with failing eyesight and hearing. During her time in Ireland, she received a lifetime achievement award from the African Voice Newspaper for her achievements and contributions to Irish society, becoming the first East African woman to receive this honour. Back home, she was celebrated and featured in 2017 as the first artist of the month in a fresh programme at the National Museum of Kenya. She also had her first solo exhibition at Red Hill Gallery, Nairobi, Kenya, not long after.

R. Karuga passed away in 2021 in Dublin, Ireland, and her collages are now part of the collections of the National Museum of Kenya, the Kenya National Archives, Murumbi Trust’s African Heritage, the Watatu Foundation, the Circle Art Gallery and Red Hill Art Gallery.