[4] Potthast later studied at the Royal Academy in Munich with the American-born instructor Carl Marr.

The purchase of one of his paintings by the Cincinnati Museum of Art may have encouraged him to abandon lithography for a career as a fine artist.

[1] His paintings retained the subdued colors and strong contrasts of the Munich school until he adopted the Impressionist palette late in his career.

[citation needed] After his arrival in New York Potthast worked as a magazine illustrator, and exhibited regularly at the National Academy of Design, the Society of American Artists and the Salmagundi Club, winning numerous prizes.

Thereafter he painted sun-saturated images of Central Park, New England landscapes, and the Long Island beach scenes for which he is best remembered.