Richard Buckner Gruelle (1851 - 1914) Watercolor on paper, signed lower left, measures 10.5 x 8 inches and 16 x 13 inches w/frame. Born in Cynthiana, Kentucky, the self-taught artist is the only one of the Hoosier Group painters without European training. Gruelle grew up in Arcola, Illinois, apprenticed as a house and sign painter, and established his first studio in Decatur, Illinois, where he began by painting portraits and domestic scenes before turning to landscapes. Gruelle relocated to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1882 to pursue a career as a full-time landscape painter. Gruelle also made extended sketching trips to the East Coast of the United States. Gruelle and his wife moved to Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1910. Gruelle was a member of several arts organizations, including the Art Association of Indianapolis (forerunner to the present-day Indianapolis Museum of Art), the New Canaan Society of Artists, the Society of Western Artists, and the Knockers, an East Coast art group. Although he only occasionally exhibited his art in national exhibitions, one a notable exception was the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at Saint Louis, Missouri, in 1904. Gruelle's eldest son, Johnny Gruelle (1880–1938), became a commercial artist, illustrator, and author, who is best known as the creator of the Raggedy Ann doll and related books and illustrations.

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