George Gross was born February 16, 1909 in Brooklyn. His parents, David and Serena Gross, were both young Jewish immigrants from the city of Szeged, Hungary. They married in 1908 and raised three children, George, his younger brother Arthur, and youngest sister, Beatrice. They lived at 105 Bay 29th Street, Brooklyn. The father, David Gross, attended Pratt Institute and became a successful artist in the fashion industry. He ran his own midtown art studio called Fashion Paper. One of his best clients was the popular Montgomery Wards mail order catalog.

When George Gross finished high school he also attended Pratt and graduated in 1931. Even before graduation, George worked for his father, and he was soon joined by both of his siblings....