A Life in Cork Born in Cork, Ireland, Nathaniel Grogan was originally an apprentice to his father, a turner and block maker. Despite his father's discouragement, he taught himself to draw, beginning his artistic journey with chalk on board. He eventually trained under the local painter John Butts. His life took him far from his home in Cork; he enlisted in the British army and served in America during the War of Independence and in the West Indies. During his time in America, advertisements offered his services for sign and ornamental painting. Upon returning to Ireland, he decorated the wall…