Franz Gruber was born in 1886 in Bad Gleichenberg. He trained as a painter at the art school in Graz before he began his studies at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe and the Academy in Munich under Ludwig Dill. He undertook several study trips to Italy and Dalmatia, among others.

During the First World War he worked as a war artist. His artistic subjects were mainly landscapes in different seasons as well as Austrian mountain landscapes.