Duncan Darroch (1888-1967) was born in Otago. In the 1920s he was working on Union Steam Ship Company coasters visiting every port in New Zealand, travelling to Canada and Britain, painting during his journeys. He studied at the Canterbury School of Art in 1922 under Archibald Nicoll. In 1954 Darroch was appointed honorary ranger at Mt Cook National Park where he lived until his death in 1967. He painted mountains and seascapes in an impressionist style and is represented in the Aigantighe Gallery, Forrester Gallery, Hocken Library, Christchurch Art Gallery, University of Canterbury, Te Papa and at the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre, Hermitage. Darroch bequeathed his chalet, Tighnabruaich, at Mt Cook, to the New Zealand Forest and Bird Protection Society.