La Garde

LEON KROLL, 1884-1974

Kroll began to paint views of New York in 1918, a subject that fascinated him for the rest of his life. George Bellows, who not only became a friend but also exerted a strong influence upon Kroll's work, was an admirer of his art. Through Bellows, Kroll was introduced to “The Eight” - a loose association of painters who first exhibited together at the Macbeth Gallery in New York in 1908 (members of "the Eight" included George Bellows, Robert Henri, John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, George Luks, Maurice Prendergast, Everett Shinn, and William Glackens). Leon Kroll began exhibiting with them at the MacDowell Club. He also traveled to paint, including going to Rockport and Gloucester, Massachusetts; Monhegan Island in Maine; and in 1917, he joined his friends Robert Henri, and George Bellows in Santa Fe, New Mexico.