[3][4] Charles Paul Gruppé was born 3 September 1860 in Picton, Ontario, Canada.

[4][5] He moved to Rochester at the age of three with his mother Albertina Gruppe (1822–1900) and brother Herman and sister Clara, after the death of his father Henry W.

[2] Between 1897 and 1913, Gruppé lived in the Netherlands, where he painted with the Hague School and acted as a dealer for Dutch painters in the United States.

He, his wife Helen Elizabeth (née Mitchell) and their children returned permanently to America in 1913 ahead of World War I. Gruppe owned a Queen Annes-style row house from July 1912 until 1972, at 138 Manhattan Avenue, New York City, New York.

[9][10] His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics.