Emile Gruppé was born in New York in 1896. He studied at the Art Students League, New York, the National Academy of Design and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. In addition, he studied under Charles Chapman, George Bridgeman and Richard Miller. He also studied with John F. Carlson and, in 1942, the pair co-founded the Gruppe Summer School in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Gruppé taught plein air classes and operated the school until 1970. Gruppe also established a permanent Studio in Gloucester.

Member: Salmagundi Club, Allied Artists of America, Rochester Art Association, Sarasota Art Association, North Shore Art Association, Grand Central Art Galleries, St. Augustine Art Association, Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts and the Gloucester Society of Artists.