Listen (link below) to Frank Goss of Santa Barbara’s Sullivan Goss Gallery tell of his discovery of a previously unknown Edward Potthast (American, 1857-1927) painting featuring a Spanish Colonial-era California landmark. Potthast is beloved for his impressionist East Coast beach scenes, often depicting children playing on beaches, but California scenes such as this are quite rare for the New York-based artist.

The 20 by 24 oil depicting Santa Barbara’s historic mission required a bit of research by the gallery. Historic photographs pointed to Potthast having been in Santa Barbara, painting on-site, circa 1905. Goss even used Google Earth technology to approximate when the painting was done. He says it was a September morning, about 11 am, to be precise!

A similar image by Potthast, painted with a starry night sky, is in the collection of Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The new discovery got a thumbs-up from the Potthast catalogue raisonne researcher, too.

Here’s the link:

http://www.sullivangoss.com/exhibits/SGTV_POTTHASTMYSTERY/