Emile Gruppe

[3] He lived the early years of his life in the Netherlands as his father, Charles P. Gruppé, painted with the Hague School of art and acted as a dealer for the Dutch painters in the United States.

All of Emile's siblings established themselves in the arts, Paulo Mesdag (1891–1979) as a cellist, Karl Heinrich (1893–1982) as a sculptor, and Virginia Helena Gruppé as a watercolorist.

Gruppé studied at the National Academy in New York City and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris.[when?

][citation needed] His artistic career began in 1915 but was briefly interrupted in 1917, when he spent a year in the United States Navy.

Gruppé is among the most prominent of Rockport artists, a group that includes Anthony Thieme, Marguerite Pierson, Antonio Cirino, W. Lester Stevens, and Aldro Hibbard.