Edward Henry Potthast (1857-1927)

At a period of great political, social and economic change in the United States, images of leisure and enjoyment were a welcome respite for many who sought an escape from the sobering realities of everyday life. In Retrieving, a sun-soaked cheerful beach scene, Edward Henry Potthast has skillfully portrayed "the heat, color, and light, and the rhythm of the figures, the sky, the sand and the water" to capture “a snapshot of a moment at the seashore." (D. Smith-Hurd, Edward Henry Potthast, 1857-1927: An American Painter, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1994, n.p.) Potthast’s use of a vibrant palette of cool blues and bright whites, and the emphasis on the large collie, adds to the liveliness of the image.