Valery "Jerome" Gromov was born in Kovrov, Russia in 1964. The grandson of a notable artist, Gromov was always surrounded by art. In 1978 there was an exhibition in Moscow of the Premier Collection from the Prado Museum. Valery, at age 14 left school in the middle of the day and traveled over 500 miles by train to view the works of Velasquez, Goya, and El Greco. Nothing could have readied him for viewing the immense beauty created by the masters. He sat admiring the works and decided from them on that he wanted to convey the same feeling to others by painting. In 1983 Valery Gromov graduated from the Donetsk Art College. He went on to be become a designer at their Art & Décor factory where he created decorative art for official buildings and public areas. He also continued to paint for his own satisfaction. Gromov has been part of many exhibitions through out Europe and his works are owned by collector’s world wide.