Emile Albert Gruppe (1896 - 1978)

The name Gruppe is eternally linked with the world of art. As a whole the family has produced as many if not more successful artists than any other one surname. The family does not appear to have a noted history of rivalry or competition amongst the members involved in the field. However, that recognition in the art realm seems tethered on either critical acclaim or financial success or both, it begs us to ask the question ‘who was the most successful Gruppe artisan’? History has thus far given the nod to Emile Albert Gruppe.

Born in 1896 in Rochester, NY, Emile and his siblings were taken under the wing of their father Charles Gruppe. Charles was already a successful painter of landscapes, seascapes and genre works when his children began to arrive. Under his father’s tutelage Emile fell in love with painting and settled on art as a career before the age of twenty. He would study at the Carnegie Art School, Art Students League and under accomplished painters of Provincetown, Massachusetts and Europe. His time spent in Provincetown led Emile to establishing his permanent studio in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Keeping the family connection alive Emile shared studio space with his brother Karl Heinrich Gruppe, who would become a renowned sculptor. Heavily influenced by the works of Monet, Gruppe developed an impressionist style. He is most noted for his ability to tell the viewer the time of day or season not through color, but rather through width of brushstrokes and density of paint. Popular among his works are the harbor scenes with docked sailing vessels and his village scenes of nearby Rockport. Gruppe was not limited to these uses of canvas as he showed equal skill in capturing the snow filled woodlands of Vermont and the palm tree littered beaches of Florida that he frequented.

In 1942 Emile, with the help of some of the artists he had studied under, established the Gruppe Summer School in Gloucester. His passion for art resonated in his teaching leading Emile to be equally recognized for his accomplishments in both painting and instruction. One of Gruppe’s finest students was his son Robert Charles Gruppe who is still painting today after studying under Emile for twenty years. Emile’s nephew Charles C. Gruppe is also still currently producing paintings with noted success.

Emile Gruppe lived to be 82 years old, painting and teaching right up to the end. The quantity of paintings he left behind is enormous numbering in the thousands. That amount, however, is certainly surpassed by the number of ‘impressions’ he made upon aspiring artists, collectors and fans of art the world over.

Frederick Harer (1879-1946) and Ben Badura (1896-1986)

This is the story of two artists who found their greatest success not from oils, watercolors, or even ink. These two men literally carved out their niche in the artist’s landscape by pushing the boundaries of frame making. Oddly enough their success and influence as frame makers came almost reluctantly and by accident.

Frederick Harer was born in 1879, in Blossburg, Pennsylvania. Harer’s father was a successful cabinet maker and taught Frederick the secrets of the trade. Harer was a free spirit and traveled extensively in the British West Indies and Spain. Not one to stay in hotels or resort areas, Harer would use native guides and travel to remote untapped areas, immersing himself in the local cultures. He used the arts and crafts and local styles from his travels as his inspiration and main influence.
Harer returned to Pennsylvania to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts under famous instructors William Merritt Chase and Thomas Anshutz. It was at the Academy that Harer stumbled upon what would become the bulk of his life’s work. Using his father’s wood working tools Harer had taken to making original frames and framing his own paintings and the other artists at the academy took notice. Soon Harer was supporting himself entirely on frame making. Beyond his father’s tools he created specialized carving equipment and integrated them into his hand carved frames. His gilding was meticulous and of the highest quality, the product of classic training and ‘secret’ techniques he developed. His pride in his work translated in the simple etched signature he would carve into the back of each frame, treating them as works of art.

Harer’s work became extremely popular not only with Bucks County painters, but also with painters in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Connecticut. Eventually the demand was too much for one man to handle and so Harer took on an apprentice named Bernard Badura. Eventually known as Ben, Bernard Badura was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1896. Badura loved to paint and wanted to be an artist very early on in his life. After returning from WWI he enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia and was a student of Daniel Garber. Badura had no initial interest in frame making, but accepted the apprenticeship under Harer to make ends meet. He demonstrated considerable skill at carving and gilding, surprising some of the artists when they saw ‘Badura’ etched on the back of their frame and not ‘Harer’.

In 1946 Frederick Harer died, leaving his sacred tools and sketchbooks to Badura. He entrusted them to Ben as he was the only frame maker worthy of these treasured items. For the next forty years Badura continued in the Harer tradition and also introduced his own designs that became wildly popular amongst the artists who commissioned the frames. Badura, whose heart truly lied in oil and canvas, never took on more commissions than he needed to pay his bills, allowing himself as much time as possible to paint. He never deviated from his original price of $8 per foot even as inflation took hold and the artists he worked for begged him to increase his price.

Welcome Antan Tutra

The Gilt Complex proudly welcomes Antan Tutra to our family of currently producing, local artists. Albanian born, Tutra has been classically trained and has provided us with a stunning collection of South Jersey impressionist works. Using plain air settings combined with imagination Tutra is able to express emotion through his palette. Please visit our website or the gallery to see these tremendous works of fine art.