Son of renowned painter Charles Gruppe, Emile was born
in 1896 and, in addition to his father's artistic influence, attended
the Carnegie Art School where he studied with George Bridgeman,
the Arts Students League, Woodstock NY under John F. Carlson,
Provincetown, MA with Charles Hawthorne, Richard Miller, and George
Chapman. He briefly interrupted his career when he entered the
Unites States Navy in 1917 and served for a year.
Gruppe painted numerous works throughout his life. He is best
known for his impressionistic landscapes, painted figures and
portraits - especially for "his views of fishing boats docked
at Gloucester and Rockport, and for his Rockport village scenes."
For the majority of his professional career, he worked and lived
in Gloucester, Massachusetts, often wintering in Vermont and Florida.
In 1942, he founded the Gruppe Summer School in Gloucester with
his mentors Miller, Carlson, Bridgeman, and Chapman.
Like many artists of the time, Gruppe was largely influenced
by the work of Claude Monet. In his various paintings of the Bass
Rocks area, Gruppe offers a view of the dramatic rocky seashore
as it's majestic waves crash through it. A common theme in his
work, his views of the coast differ in the time of day, season,
and point of view, with variant intentions affecting the depth
and breadth of brushstroke and the thickness of paint. Gruppe
reveals the conflict of the sea and the formidable rocky coastline
against the calm orange light of the early morning, or the deep
orange sunset as a day draws to a close. He paints the rocks thick
and heavy, but uses a surprisingly delicate hand to convey the
variations in the sky.
Gruppe lived a long and prolific life, passionate about his
art and about sharing the joys and skills of visual creativity
with future generations. He died in 1978 at the age of 82. In
one of his last interviews revealed his philosophy of painting:
"If you want exacting details in a painting, than you might
as well look at a photograph. I make an impression on a canvas,
and let one's imagination fill in the details."
Gruppe's works can be found in the Richmond Art Museum, the
Hickory Museum of Art, Springville Museum of Art, Whistler House
Museum of Art, and more.
