Paul Grimm was born in South Africa in 1892. When brought to the U.S. at age seven, Grimm already showed promise as an artist. At 18 he won a scholarship in Rochester, New York for art study at the Dusseldorf Royal Academy. In 1919 he moved to Hollywood and began his art career painting backdrops for the movie studios. Grimm settled in Palm Springs in 1932 and remained a resident there for the rest of his life. He maintained a small studio-gallery in downtown Palm Springs at 428 N. Palm Canyon Road, where such notables as President Dwight D. Eisenhower often visited and shared confidences. Although he painted scenes of the High Sierras, missions, and Indian portraits, his fame lies as a painter of the Southern California desert and its many moods. Grimm died in Palm Springs on December 30, 1974.

Exhibited: San Diego Exposition, 1935.

Works held: Sierra Nevada Museum, Reno; Bank of America, Palm Springs; Palm Springs Post Office.

Source: Artists in California: 1786-1940, Edan Hughes