Artist Edward Henry Potthast

American Impressionist Painter (1857 – 1927) 

“Children Playing at the Seashore” Edward Henry Potthast

Edward Henry Potthast (June 10, 1857 – March 9, 1927)

Artist Edward Henry Potthast was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.  He was an American Impressionist oil painter known for his paintings of people enjoying leisurely activities in New York’s Central Park, and on New York and New England beaches.

Edward Henry Potthast first studied art with Thomas Satterwhite Noble…later studying at the Royal Academy in Munich, Germany with the American-born teacher Carl Marr. In 1885 Potthast returned to his hometown of Cincinnati to resume his studies with Noble, and then in 1886; he moved on to Paris, for further study; with french painter Fernand Cormon. In 1895 he changed his residence again to New York City, where he remained until his death in 1927.

Until Potthast was in his late 30’s, he made his living doing lithography, however; Potthast continued to paint & study art, developing & refining his style of painting . When the Cincinnati Museum of Art purchased one of his paintings, it was at this time when Potthast may have decided to abandon doing lithography as a career; choosing instead to become an artist. After his arrival in New York Potthast worked doing illustration for a magazine , although he furthered his career as an artist  with repeated exhibitions at the National Academy of Design, the Society of American Artists and the Salmagundi Club; as well as receiving accolades for his work, for which Potthast won numerous prizes.

Artist Edward Henry Potthast’s paintings reflected the subdued colors and strong contrasts, which were prevalent in the style taught at the school in Munich; where he had studied earlier.  Potthast’s paintings showed the influence of these methods, until later in his career when he adopted an Impressionist style; emphasizing ‘sun-saturated’ images of places such as Central Park, landscapes of many different locations in New England, as well as beach scenes on Long Island.

By the early 1900’s  artist Edward Henry Potthast was installed as an artist  in a studio located at the Gainsborough Building in England. Thereafter his work was & remains, in collections included in many well-known and major museums in the United States.

If you want to see a wide-variety of different types of artwork, as well as to view prints, serigraphs, lithographs, Giclee, etc. that you like & might want to purchase to hang on your walls… you can do so by finding a website that lists artists by name & category & that also sells their work. Prints of oil paintings by famous artist masters to contemporary artists can be found at many places online.

For example… you can learn a lot about the type of art you prefer & the artist who created it, by simply having a resource that provides you a way to see examples of oil paintings and other work by many different artists.  By perusing different artist gallery websites, or visiting online stores that sell prints of their work; (unless of course you are fortunate enough to be able to afford the high-priced originals);  you can view available work by current,  as well as more well-known artists.

Visiting websites that sell art can also help you to facilitate learning about oil paintings…

as well as; art, artists, and their work; as well as the to explore the many different categories of art that exist…  from the earliest to the most contemporary. You can also visit Art History sites, where you can find many resources to help you learn about artists, art movements, different art cultures, as well as the chronology of art through time.

Visiting art museums & art galleries is also an excellent way to learn about artists, & their work , as well as  the many categories of art.  Some museums offer classes in Oil Painting, Art History, & even offer opportunities to participate in classes online.

Oil paintings and other forms of art were all around me…

My own experience with learning about art, artists, & their work, started when I was very young. I became captivated by the prints of  oil paintings  of ballerinas, that hung on my bedroom wall… and I remember thinking that they appeared to have movement. They were prints of original works painted by a famous painter who was to become one of my favorite artists;  Edward Degas.  I remember asking my mother to take me to see more of his oil paintings, which were hanging in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; where I also participated  in the “Young People’s” art classes for several years when they were being offered in the 1960’s.

Going to classes at the M.F.A. opened up a whole new world for me…

While attending the class, the instructor would often take myself and the other students upstairs to one of the many different rooms where the museum’s art was exhibited.  I saw oil paintings, as well as many examples of other types of mediums.  I remember wanting to try them all!

Besides oil painting,  I was able to try & to gain hands-on experience using pastels, pottery, sculpture, & charcoal; and I was also very fortunate to be able to learn about composition, perspective, color theory, & art history.

You can click on the following  names to view oil paintings of some of my other favorite artists:  including  Mary Cassatt ,  Edward Henry Potthast   as well as Edward Degas.