A meeting with a collector, Doctor Girardin, established his career as an artist when Girardin purchased the entirety of the work of Gromaire. Gromaire was recognized very early by galleries and museums. Already in 1931 Pierre Matisse exhibited Gromaire's work at the inauguration of his New York gallery. In 1933, a retrospective at the Kunsthalle de Baie established the importance of his body of works. In 1937, his work was exhibited by orders of the State at the Paris Exposition Internationale.
Gromaire painted many works on social subjects and is often associated with Social Realism, but Gromaire can be said to have created an independent oeuvre distinct from groups and movements.
