| ALBERT LOREY GROLL (1866-1952) was a much admired, successful western desert landscape and skyscape painter, although he remained a resident of New York City where he associated with the cultural elite. In 1910, he was elected to the National Academy of Design. Many of his paintings have rich colors and are landscapes with elements of realism but also have a focus on abstract shapes. Groll spent most of his student years in Munich, Germany at the Royal Academy studying with Ludwig Loefftz, and London, England; and he also studied at the Royal Academy in Antwerp. He painted along the Atlantic Coast and then went West with Brooklyn Indian ethnologist, Professor Stuart Culin, who was writing a treatise on Indian games. Groll painted landscapes in Arizona and New Mexico, especially skyscapes with towering cloud formations. In 1904, he first went to Arizona, where he accompanied Culin, and became a friend and guest of Indian dealer Lorenzo Hubbell at his well-known Ganado trading post. One of Groll's desert scenes, Arizona, won a gold medal at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1906. In 1908, Groll spent the summer in Arizona and at Yellowstone National Park. Although he was much recognized in the East, he continued to return to the West, especially the desert. He also did a lot of painting in New Mexico at Laguna and Santa Fe, and is credited with introducing William Robinson Leigh to the Southwest. The two of them had studied together in Munich, and at Groll's suggestion, first went to New Mexico in 1906. (bio courtesy askart.com) This is an original oil painting entitled, "San Francisco Peaks, New Mexico". This piece is undated, but was probably rendered circa 1904 if one notes the conestoga wagon in the lower right part of the image. It is signed at the bottom left corner of the painting. The painting was rendered on a 10"x 8" piece of masonite and has been framed to an overall size of 18.5" x 16.5" . There is minor wear to the frame but, otherwise, this piece is in excellent condtion. Please contact wayne@lewiswaynegallery.com if you require (or can offer) any additional information about this piece. |
