About the artist

 William Carl Groh, III is an  American born master portrait artist trained in New York and abroad.  Groh received his formal education at the Memphis Academy of Art (BFA),  Memphis, TN; Accademia di Belle Arti, Florence Italy; Lyme Academy of  Fine Arts, Old Lyme, CT; National Academy of Design, New York, NY, and  The Art Students League of New York. Groh also spent decades of  intensive studies under master painters Aaron Shikler, Frederick Taubes,  Lajos Markos, and Jan De Ruth. 

Groh’s  earlier studies began traveling between New York and Europe under the  guidance of Frederic Taubes, the foremost authority on the painting  techniques of the early Italian and Dutch masters. During this time that  Groh traveled throughout Europe earnestly examining and reproducing the  great masterpieces of the Old Masters first-hand.  Through this study,  he intensely practiced and honed his talents to become a highly skilled  painter.  In his book, The Mastery of Alla Prima Painting, Taubes  recognizes Groh as, “…one of three contemporary American painters whose  technique is nearly identical with that of the Masters.”


With  his European education completed, Groh continued his training under the  tutelage of Aaron Shikler.  Shikler is noted for his portraits of  prominent American statesmen, first ladies, European royalty, New York  society, and most famously the official White House portrait of  President John F. Kennedy.  Shikler took Groh on as a private student  for over 30 years forming him into one of the foremost living portrait  painters of the century.  Shikler’s guidance fashioned him in the image  of the legendary portraitist while bolstering Groh’s dreams and  aspirations. Shikler noted this in a letter, shortly after Groh’s  acceptance to the Smithsonian, where he remarks that Groh, “…has  achieved the highest level a mortal painter can possibly reach.”  This  experience formed a lifelong friendship and collaboration between them.

In the style of the Old Masters, Groh’s oeuvre has been described by preeminent art critics as “timeless.” Although Groh works in all media, he is best known for his work in oil medium. His masterpieces hang in many public and private collections stretching from the east to west coasts. Throughout his career, Groh’s work has been exhibited in important institutions all over the United States and Europe.  

Well  known for his portraits of 20th century academicians and theologians,  his iconic work can be viewed in the Smithsonian Institution’s National  Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. which features the treasures of the  United States. His depiction of literary  critic, author, and member of The New York Intellectuals, Diana  Trilling, has been a part of the museum’s permanent collection since  2002. Groh’s oil portrait of Avery Cardinal  Dulles, S.J., is housed with such legends as Rembrandt and Van Dyke in  the Georgetown University Art Collection in Washington, D.C. His  portrait of historian Eugen Weber is in the permanent collection of the  University of California, Los Angeles while his painting of writer  Peter Gay is in the collection of Princeton University. Fordham  University’s William D. Walsh Family Library and Columbia University’s  Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library in New York also boast Groh’s  paintings in their permanent collections. Groh  also enjoys the distinction of having painted numerous corporate  portraits such as all four presidents of McIlhenny Company since 1970,  makers of the world-famous Tabasco Sauce.  

He is a member of the National Arts Club, NYC, and the Royal Society of  Arts, London. Groh has been featured in many well-known publications and  journals on art such as Marquis Who’s Who in American Art, Georgetown University Library Associates Newsletter, The Mastery of Alla Prima Painting by Frederic Taubes, and A House in the South: Old-Fashioned Graciousness for New-Fashioned Times by Frances Schultz and Paula S. Wallace.  

Groh  presently maintains an active studio out of his historic home, the eponymously named Gröheim, where he has created his masterpieces for the  last 25 years.  He instructs popular private art courses in the alla prima, figurative, and plein air styles.  In his spare time he paints  landscapes of ancient live oak trees reminiscent of his Southern  childhood and he travels the world visiting museums.

The Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery

Washington, District of Columbia

Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University 

New York City, New York

William D. Walsh Family Library at Fordham University

The Bronx, New York

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Georgetown University

Washington, District of Columbia

Princeton University 

Princeton, New Jersey

"The important point is your extraordinary achievement -- you are indeed a master portraitist and how lucky I am to have encountered you!   I hate having photographs taken of me and I had a deep reluctance to sit for a portrait. You at once vanquished this fear by the gentleness of your  approach to your task and I was comforted that you would show the  pleasanter face of truth. But manifestly you went well beyond this to  create a living subject. How grateful I am to you and your art!"

- DIANA TRILLING, Letter to the artist

          French Chalk in Permanent Collection of Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery 

     Oil Portrait in Permanent Collection of Columbia University's  

Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library