Ralph Brownell McGrew was born in Columbus, Ohio. As a child, he moved to California with his family. He gained his artistic training at the Otis Art Institute, where he studied with Ralph Holmes. As a young artist he gained recognition for landscape painting, for which his technical proficiency was heralded. He soon began teaching at Otis, as well as continuing to exhibit. McGrew loved painting portraits, and gained numerous early commissions painting society portraits in his classical manner. After some travels to the desert, he fell inlove with the West. He began painting Navajo and Hopi Indians subjects in Arizona and New Mexico. He became known for highly detailed and realistic Indian portraits. He moved to Palm Springs where he could continue painting the California desert and Southwestern landscapes. Here he became acquainted with James Swinnerton, a fellow desert painter. McGrew’s technique is unique in the smooth finish his paintings achieve. To achieve a luminous effect, he mixed oil paint, linseed oil, and turpentine, but no glaze or lacquer. This sometimes caused the paint to crack over time.