Groll was born in
Düsseldorf as the son of a glove maker and writer Theodor Groll (b. 1831). In 1878, he completed his school education at the . He then attended the Berlin
Bauakademie, where he graduated as
master builder. He later changed his discipline and became a private pupil of the Düsseldorf landscape and veduta painter
Caspar Scheuren. Groll undertook numerous study trips, several times to Italy. In April 1890 he visited Rome. From 1892, he stayed in the U.S. for several years. In 1893, he was a judge at the
World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In 1896, he travelled through southern and central German cities. In 1904, Groll founded the
November Group together with the painters , ,
Carl Ernst Bernhard Jutz,
Gustav Rutz,
Emil Schultz-Riga and others in Düsseldorf. Groll was a member of the and the
Malkasten, which he served as chairman for several years. Groll died in Düsseldorf at age 56. == Work ==