F.W. Potts Seaside Gums, Queensland Watercolour

Updated September 5, 2026

Artist: Frank Waldo “Wal” Potts (Australian, 1888–1970) Title: Seaside Gums Medium: Watercolour on paper Sight Size: Approx. 8" x 9.5" Framed Size: Approx. 15.5" x 16.5" Signature: Signed “F.W. POTTS” lower right Verso: Original handwritten label inscribed “SEASIDE GUMS QNS’LD / WATER COLOUR / F.W. POTTS / REDCLIFFE Q.” Titled Seaside Gums on the original verso label, the composition features monumental pale gum trunks framing a pathway leading toward the blue water beyond. Potts employs transparent washes of ochre, lavender, blue-grey and muted green, with loosely articulated foliage and strong vertical tree forms creating depth and movement. Artist Biography Frank Waldo “Wal” Potts (1888–1970) was born at Sandgate, Queensland, and died in Brisbane. He studied at the Brisbane Central Technical College under R. Godfrey Rivers, an important figure in Queensland art. Potts served with the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, where he met artist David McHaffie. Following the war, Potts and McHaffie settled on a fruit farm at Flaxton on Queensland's Blackall Range. Potts exhibited with the Royal Queensland Art Society from 1926 to 1966, producing landscapes and still lifes and becoming particularly recognized for his watercolours. QAGOMA records that he exhibited more than 170 landscapes and still lifes with the Society over approximately four decades. After retiring to Woody Point, coastal subjects from the Redcliffe Peninsula became an important part of his work. Although Potts also worked in oils, QAGOMA notes that he is particularly known for the quality of his watercolours. Potts is represented in significant Queensland public collections. QAGOMA holds works including Valley of the Maroochy (c.1938–40) and The Obi from Mapleton Range (c.1939–40). The State Library of Queensland also records an F.W. Potts watercolour specifically titled Redcliffe in its Bluett Collection.

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