Marcel Damboise was born on August 8, 1903 in Marseille. There, he studied briefly at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, but being born in a modest family of craftsmen, he was forced to quit in order to take an apprenticeship as a stone cutter. In 1926, he settled in Paris, and shortly after, in a studio in la Ruche, at the same time as his friend Dideron. In 1928, he married Yvette Dorignac, the youngest daughter of the painter Georges Dorignac. He was consequently connected to a family of artists: his three brothers-in-law were the painters André Hébuterne, Henri Epstein and his friend Dideron. The following year, he showed his work at the Salon des Indépendants where he met Paul Cornet, Charles Despiau, Aristide Maillol, Charles Malfray…who became his masters.