[1] Rutherford was born at Kings Norton in Worcestershire and spent part of her childhood in Broomfield near Chelmsford where her father, who was originally from County Down, was a church rector.
[1][3] During World War II, Rutherford was a volunteer with the Red Cross undertaking a variety of duties, including driving a mobile canteen to military sites.
[4] She received a drawing permit from the War Artists' Advisory Committee to record the work of her fellow VAD nurses and their patients.
[3][4][5] After the war, Rutherford spent some time helping Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines in running the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing.
[2] She established a studio at Walsham le Willows, where her brother was the local vicar, and designed a number of stained glass windows for churches in Essex and Suffolk while continuing to paint still-life and figure pictures.