.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Around the time of the turn of the century, great political, economic and social changes allowed for the possibility and acceptance of the five-day work week and extended vacations. For Edward Henry Potthast, this increase in leisure time supplied subject matter which he painted over and over again. Among his favorites were outings at the seashore.
In A Family Outing, Potthast has captured "the heat, color, and light, and the rhythm of the figures, the sky, the sand and the water" to create "almost a snapshot of a moment at the seashore." (D. Smith-Hurd, Edward Henry Potthast, 1857-1927: An American Painter, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1994, n.p.) Like so many of Potthast's seashore paintings, A Family Outing is "a tribute to the carefree atmosphere of the seashore: happy children rollicking about, splashing in the surf, young mothers with children in their arms or beside their breeze-blown skirts, gossiping or strolling the beach; and family groups, picnicking, sunning themseves or chatting merrily on the sand beside gayly colored beach umbrellas." (Edward Henry Potthast, 1857-1927)
By choosing a vibrant palette, Potthast imbued his finest works such as A Family Outing with a lively and appealing character. The radiant blues of the sea are highlighted by the crisp white caps of the waves and the gleaming sand. While Potthast developed the beach scene with some regularity, A Family Outing differs from most of these paintings in its unusual perspective. The way in which the artist has cut off the bench at the right edge of the composition creates a truly impressionistic snapshot of the family's sunny day at the beach.
In A Family Outing, Potthast has captured "the heat, color, and light, and the rhythm of the figures, the sky, the sand and the water" to create "almost a snapshot of a moment at the seashore." (D. Smith-Hurd, Edward Henry Potthast, 1857-1927: An American Painter, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1994, n.p.) Like so many of Potthast's seashore paintings, A Family Outing is "a tribute to the carefree atmosphere of the seashore: happy children rollicking about, splashing in the surf, young mothers with children in their arms or beside their breeze-blown skirts, gossiping or strolling the beach; and family groups, picnicking, sunning themseves or chatting merrily on the sand beside gayly colored beach umbrellas." (Edward Henry Potthast, 1857-1927)
By choosing a vibrant palette, Potthast imbued his finest works such as A Family Outing with a lively and appealing character. The radiant blues of the sea are highlighted by the crisp white caps of the waves and the gleaming sand. While Potthast developed the beach scene with some regularity, A Family Outing differs from most of these paintings in its unusual perspective. The way in which the artist has cut off the bench at the right edge of the composition creates a truly impressionistic snapshot of the family's sunny day at the beach.