Grogan was born in Cork and began life as an apprentice to his father, a turner and block maker, but had a love for the arts and taught himself to draw. At his father’s request, he enlisted in the British Army and served in America during the War of Independence. Little, if any, is known of the paintings he produced there.
Grogan went on to produce numerous oil and watercolour paintings depicting urban scenes of Cork, aquatint prints and decorative works and murals in stately homes. He painte
d landscape and genre scenes of his native Cork, before such genre scenes became popular among Irish painters, and was influenced by Dutch artists such as Heemskerk. His 1780 painting, View of Cork, is considered an important record of the city’s history.
Nathaniel Grogan featured in "Ireland: Her People and Landscape" (2012) exhibition. Please click here to view the catalogue.
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