Edward Potthast, A Family Picnic, c. 1910–20

Oil on canvas

30 x 40 in
76.2 x 101.6 cm
Framed dimensions: 40 x 48 1/2 inches

Signed lower left of center: E. Potthast

Primarily known for his bright and colorful beach scenes, Edward Henry Potthast grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to New York in 1895. In addition to studying in Cincinnati, Potthast traveled to Antwerp, Munich, and Paris to expand his artistic education prior to relocating to the East Coast. During this period, he exhibited at the Paris Salon and Munich Academy as well as at the Cincinnati Art Museum.

After moving to New York, he also exhibited at the National Academy of Design, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The Salmagundi Club, and the American Water Color Society, among other institutions. Potthast continued to travel both nationally and internationally while based in New York, with summer months spent in Gloucester, Massachusetts; Ogunquit, Maine; Old Lyme, Connecticut; and Nantucket, which provided limitless inspiration for his famous beach scenes. Trips to Holland, Italy, the Grand Canyon, and the Pacific Northwest offered a plethora of landscape subjects and added variety to his mature work.

In the early 1900s, Potthast’s work transitioned from the dark Dutch inspired interiors for which he first won awards, to the light-filled Impressionist scenes painted with bravura in a high-keyed palette. In 1908, he established his studio at 222 West 59th Street, where he had a spectacular view overlooking Central Park South. This location inspired him to paint views of the park. His favorite subjects, however, were families passing carefree summer hours at the seashore. Since Coney Island and Brighton Beach were so close to his studio in the city, he gained much plein air practice over the hot New York summers.

Painted circa 1910-1920, A Family Picnic was inspired by one of Potthast’s many visits to coastal retreats in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The houses in the background and the calm interior waterway differ from the crowded beaches and crashing surf of his Coney Island and Brighton Beach scenes, conveying a more subdued view of the artist’s favorite subject. The colorful umbrellas and bathing costumes of the figures are juxtaposed against the broad planes of sand and water, while the palette and simplified forms of the figures are characteristic of Potthast’s mature work.

Provenance

Mr. and Mrs. Merrill Gross, Cincinnati, Ohio;
By descent through the family, until 2022;
Private collection, Pennsylvania, 2024

Exhibitions

Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Art Museum, Paintings by Edward H. Potthast 1957-1927 from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Merrill Gross, 1965

Washington, DC, Corcorcan Gallery of Art, The Merrill J. Gross Collection of Edward Henry Potthast, March 16 – April 22, 1973, no. 51

Washington, DC, The White House, circa 1977 – 1996 (loan)

Louisville, Kentucky, The J.B. Speed Art Museum, 1984, no. 10

Orlando, Florida, Orlando Museum of Art, Edward Potthast: An American Impressionist, January 7 – February 12, 1989, no. 32

Memphis, Tennessee, The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Americans at Play: Edward Henry Potthast (1857-1927), June 30 – September 22, 1996

Savannah, Georgia, Telfair Museum of Art, Edward Potthast: An American Impressionist, March 11 – May 25, 1997

Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham Museum of Art, An American Impressionist: Edward Henry Potthast, August 31, 1997 – February 1, 1998

New York, Gerald Peters Gallery, Edward Henry Potthast: An American Impressionist, May 20 – June 20, 1998, p. 21, illus.

Item added to cart

Edward Potthast 1857-1927

Cookie preferences

Please join our mailing list

Edward Potthast 1857-1927

Further images

Provenance

Exhibitions