Albert Groll

'Storm Clouds (Arizona)' — Early 20th-Century American Impressionism

c. 1914

1866-1952 Born in New York City in 1866, Albert Groll became a much-admired, successful western desert landscape and skyscape painter. In 1910, he was elected to the National Academy of Design. Many of his paintings had rich colors and were landscapes with elements of realism, but they also had a focus on abstract shapes. He spent most of his student years in Munich, Germany, at the Royal Academy studying with Ludwig Loefftz; he also studied at the Royal Academy in Antwerp, something few Americans were doing in the late 19th century. In 1905, Groll first came to Arizona, where he 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 the Fine Arts in 1906. In 1908, Groll spent the summer in Arizona and at Yellowstone National Park. It was Groll who introduced the general public to the varying landscapes of Arizona that made the desert so appealing. *https://www.matteucci.com/albert-groll