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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.
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