Extraordinary Gifts: Selected Paintings from The Procter and Gamble Collection at the Cincinnati Art Museum February 15, 2003 to September 12, 2004 Extraordinary Gifts: Selected Paintings from The Procter and Gamble Collection at the Cincinnati Art Museum Cincinnati Art Museum logo
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Edward H. Potthast (1857–1927)
Surf Bathers, ca. 1924
oil on canvas
12 x 24 in.

   This small oil study is one of many that Potthast made en plein air (meaning in the open air) as he sat at the seaside, observing swimmers playing in the surf. Potthast used these small sketches as a reference when he painted larger canvases in his studio. He kept these studies intentionally small, making them easier to transport; and he also painted very rapidly, trying to catch a fleeting moment using heavy, thick, and suggestive brushstrokes. For example, the waves are made up of strong, broad strokes of white paint. This rough handling captures the movement of the white caps as they break against the shore.