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. Gruppe.[6][2] He was a self-taught artist.[2] In 1872, at the age of twelve, he was a founder of the Rochester Art Club.[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-stylerow house from July 1912 until 1972, at 138
Manhattan Avenue, New York City, New York.[7][8]
All the Gruppé children were active in the arts; Paulo Mesdag (1891–1979) was a cellist, Karl Heinrich (1893–1982) was a sculptor,
Virginia Helena Gruppé worked in watercolors, and
Emile Albert Gruppé was a painter.[9][10]
^Welcome to the Art of Charles C. Gruppé "Charles C. Gruppé comes from one of America's most respected families of artists. His grandfather, Charles Paul Gruppé (1860–1940), studied and painted in ..."
^American Artists in Photographic Portraits: From the Peter A. National Museum of American Art (U.S.), Nat'l Museum American Art, Joan Stahl – 1995 "EMILE ALBERT GRUPPE (1896–1978), painter. His paintings of sailboats and fishing vessels were often Dramatically composed. Gruppe was from a family of painters— his father, brother, sister and nephew were artists. He painted in and ..."
^L. M. Vincent -In Search of Motif No. 1: The History of a Fish Shack 2011 – Page 62 "According to the Gloucester Daily Times, Charles P. Gruppé's charming pictures Wharf at Rockport and Fishing Shacks were the pictures perhaps attracting the most attention."