Clara Gangutia entered the San Fernando Superior School of Fine Arts in Madrid at the age of 16, with Antonio López as professor and Juan Manuel Contreras and Roberto González as study companions. In 1974, the artist received a study pension for the Spanish Academy in Rome, and she won the first prize in the ""Gipuzkoan Paintings"" contest in San Sebastián. In the following years, she will be awarded a scholarship by the Juan March Foundation and the Ministry of Culture. In 1981, she obtained the second medal in the painting competition of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce. Although she settled permanently in Madrid, the painter from San Sebastian will continue her whole life recreating the landscapes of her hometown.

Clara Gangutia's work can be found in the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, the Reina Sofía National Art Center Museum, the Madrid Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Spanish Union of Explosives Collection, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Museo d´Arte dello Splendore de Giulianova (Italy), Vitoria Museum, Postal and Telegraphic Museum, Ibercaja Collection, Guipúzcoa Provincial Council, Saldañuela Collection of the Burgos Savings Bank, Madrid Municipal Collection, Collezione Coniugi Teresita and Alfredo Paglione, Euskaltel Collection, Kutxa Foundation Collection and Aranzadi Society of Sciences Collection.