Edward Potthast Biography

Edward Henry Potthast (1857-1927) was an American Impressionist painter known for his sunny beach scenes and high-keyed details such as balloons, hats, and umbrellas. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Potthast was the son of working-class parents who were both artisans. His father was a chair and cabinet maker, while his mother was a clerk and milliner.

Potthast began his artistic training at the McMicken School of Design in Cincinnati, where he studied under Thomas Satterwhite Noble. Noble was a portrait and figure painter who employed a dark palette and a rich, painterly technique derived from his instruction under French artist Thomas Couture. Potthast studied at McMicken, off and on, for over a decade, and his teacher was Noble from 1879 to 1881.

In 1881, Potthast made his first trip to Europe, where he studied in Antwerp and Munich. In Munich, he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, where he was influenced by the Munich School, which was characterized by its use of light and shadow in realistically rendered works. Potthast also studied in Paris, where he was influenced by the French Impressionists.

After his return to the United States, Potthast became a prominent figure in the American art scene, exhibiting at the National Academy of Design and the Paris Salon. He was elected an Associate of the National Academy in 1899 and a full Academician in 1906. Potthast's paintings are characterized by their use of light and color, and he is considered one of the most important American Impressionist painters of his time.

Potthast never married and was an extremely private person. He was close to his nephew and namesake, Edward Henry Potthast II (1880-1941), who was also an artist. Potthast died alone in his New York studio on March 9, 1927.

The paintings of Edward Henry Potthast are represented in public collections across the United States, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York; Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; Art Institute of Chicago; Cincinnati Art Museum; Georgia Museum of Art, Athens; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.