“Expressive brush strokes, lost and found edges, truthfully relate the big masses. One’s own mannerisms and aptitude come forth and sets us apart as individuals.”

A LIFE WITH ART

Being the third generation of a legendary family of artists, which is almost a household name in American art, Robert Gruppé grew up in a stimulating artistic environment. The family home and the studio of his father, Emile A. Gruppé (1896-1978), were located in Gloucester, MA, surrounded by striking water views, bustling docks and vernacular New England architecture. Soon the smell of the sea and of wet paint would lead the young Robert into what would later be his two great passions: painting and fishing.

A very young Robert in his father's studio

Photo: Emile A. Gruppe 

For almost 45 years the studio was also the seat of the Gloucester School of Painting where his father and other prominent artists of the Cape Ann School taught over 7,000 students. For the young Robert this was a unique and fertile educational environment which he would later expand by studying drawing and design with nominated sculptor George Demetrios (1896-1974). Through the years to come Robert Gruppé would demonstrate a unique ability to invigorate the scholarly traditions on which his art is based, bringing him to the forefront of contemporary American landscape painting.

Painting on a New England dock

Photo: Lars Hegelund

               THE WAY IT WORKS 
Robert Gruppé never stops exploring the subtle and ever changing properties of his subject matter. This is evident throughout his work be it the morning view of Smith’s Cove from his studio in Gloucester or the afternoon glow on the beach in Naples, where he spends the winters. Often the same motif will be painted again and again, ‘It’s a new song every day’ as he puts it. Using scholarly traditions in relating the important masses, balancing values and establishing design, he lets the ever changing qualities of light and color create unique propositions.

    He works swiftly, when painting outdoors, knowing that changing weather and light leaves him limited time to catch the moment. Color is applied with broad expressive brushstrokes texturing impasto into a unique personal statement. Sun drenched colors overlaid into cohesive recognizable stop-frames of real-life scenes, make New England and Florida come alive in an impressionistic style reminiscent of Monet and Hassam.

The Gruppe palette

Photo: Lars Hegelund

Text: Lars Hegelund