Lot Essay
Looking Out to Sea typifies the seashore scenes Edward Henry Potthast began producing in New York at the turn of the century and for which he is known. His use of color and his handling of paint produce a sun-drenched canvas that invites the viewer into the painting.
Very rarely in these beach paintings does Potthast give the figures an identity. In Looking Out to Sea Potthast paints the backs of the three figures that are looking out upon the ocean. It is this anonymity that "allows us a greater freedom to identify with the scene and, therefore, participate in the painting." (D. Smith-Hurd, Edward Henry Potthast [1857-1927]: An American Painter, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1994, n.p.) Not only do we, as the viewer, see what Potthast was seeing, but we also see beyond to what the figures in the painting are seeing.
Potthast's paintings such as Looking Out to Sea received great critical acclaim. One of his contemporaries wrote, "When a man paints a theme as well as Potthast paints seashore subjects, we forgive him for sticking to it to the exclusion of other subjects." (Edward Henry Potthast: 1857-1927, New York, 1969, n.p.) Diane Smith-Hurd was not alone in thinking, "Potthast's paintings are a world we can escape into." (D. Smith-Hurd, Edward Henry Potthast [1857-1927]: An American Painter, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1994, n.p.)
This painting will be included in Mary O'Connell's forthcoming catalogue raisonn of the artist's work.
Very rarely in these beach paintings does Potthast give the figures an identity. In Looking Out to Sea Potthast paints the backs of the three figures that are looking out upon the ocean. It is this anonymity that "allows us a greater freedom to identify with the scene and, therefore, participate in the painting." (D. Smith-Hurd, Edward Henry Potthast [1857-1927]: An American Painter, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1994, n.p.) Not only do we, as the viewer, see what Potthast was seeing, but we also see beyond to what the figures in the painting are seeing.
Potthast's paintings such as Looking Out to Sea received great critical acclaim. One of his contemporaries wrote, "When a man paints a theme as well as Potthast paints seashore subjects, we forgive him for sticking to it to the exclusion of other subjects." (Edward Henry Potthast: 1857-1927, New York, 1969, n.p.) Diane Smith-Hurd was not alone in thinking, "Potthast's paintings are a world we can escape into." (D. Smith-Hurd, Edward Henry Potthast [1857-1927]: An American Painter, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1994, n.p.)
This painting will be included in Mary O'Connell's forthcoming catalogue raisonn of the artist's work.