“Figures in an Interior”
by EDWARD HENRY POTTHAST
(1857 - 1927)
Up for sale is a signed watercolor on paper by Edward Henry Potthast the
American painter and illustrator. This work is signed lower right and in
very good condition and was likely an illustration used for a magazine.
The work is in very nice condition and has just a few small fox marks
to the surface.
Provenance of the painting is a Private UK collection.
Watercolor dimensions are 10" x 14" and it is unframed
Provenance of the painting is a Private UK collection.
Watercolor dimensions are 10" x 14" and it is unframed
Condition is very good in original condition
Edward
Potthast worked as an apprentice to a lithographer from the age of 16,
and, except for a period in Europe, continued to work as a commercial
lithographer until the age of 39. He studied at night classes at the
McMickin School of Design, Cincinnati, and at academies in Antwerp,
Munich and Paris from 1882 to 1887, where he was influenced by the work
of Robert Vonnoh and the Irish Impressionist Roderic O'Conor.
Potthast's
early works show the dark tonalities of the Munich school, but he began
using brighter colours in 1896 after moving to New York. From 1915 he
painted ocean beaches near New York City, and is best known for his
scenes of women and children bathing or lounging on the beach, as in the
oils Afternoon Fun, or Ring around the Rosy (around 1915). He also
painted scenes of the New England coast, with the ocean breaking on
rocky shores.
Potthast produced illustrations for magazines such as
Scribner's and Century. His work was characterised by a carefully
selected viewpoint, the elimination of distracting detail, thick
pigment, little facial expression in subjects, and contrasting blocks of
color. Most of his paintings are undated.
Auction Records
New York, 31 May 1985: Beach Scene (watercolour and pencil/mounted paper/card, 18½ × 22 ins/47 × 55.8 cm) USD 26,000
New York, 29 May 1987: Beach Scene (pencil and watercolour/paper, 4¾ × 5¾ ins/12.2 × 14.6 cm) USD 9,000
New York, 24 May 2000: At the Seaside (oil on panel, 13 × 16 ins/32 × 41 cm) USD 280,000
New York, 25 April 2002: Family Outing (oil on board, 11 × 16 ins/29 × 40 cm) USD 260,000