Leon Kroll was born in New York and studied at the Art Students League under John Twachtman and at the National Academy of Design. Between 1908 and 1910, he studied in Paris at the Académie Julian. Upon returning to the United States Kroll's work was exhibited at the 1913 Amory Show, and by the 1920's he had begun teaching at the National Academy of Design and at the Art Institute of Chicago. During the 1930's Leon Kroll and his family began spending time in Gloucester. In 1944 they purchased a property there, and for the rest of their lives divided their time between Cape Ann and New York.
