Edward Henry Potthast (1857-1927)

This work will be included in M. Ran’s forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist’s work.

In the late nineteenth century, hoards of New York working class families frequented nearby beaches, such as Coney Island or Rockaway Beach, to escape from their crowded apartments and factory buildings and relax in the sunshine. The Bathing Beach exemplifies Edward Henry Potthast's interest in depicting these working class families at leisure, as well as his arresting stylistic hybrid of French Impressionism and American Realism. In true Impressionist style, Potthast has captured in The Bathing Beach the essence of a fleeting moment of working class life in vibrant color and adroit, bravura brushwork.