Gustave Baumann (June 27, 1881 – October 8, 1971) was an American

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...

and

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, and one of the leading figures of the color

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

revival in

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. His works have been shown at the New York

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

The Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Located in the Wade Park District of University Circle, the museum is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian art and ho ...

, the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, and the

New Mexico Museum of Art The New Mexico Museum of Art is an art museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe governed by the state of New Mexico, United States. It is one of four state-run museums in Santa Fe that are part of the Museum of New Mexico. It is located one bloc ...

. He is also recognized for his role in the 1930s as area coordinator of the

Public Works of Art Project The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was a New Deal work-relief program that employed professional artists to create sculptures, paintings, crafts and design for public buildings and parks during the Great Depression in the United States. The ...

of the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

Biography

Gustave Baumann was born in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and moved to the United States in 1891 with his family. By age 17 he was working for an

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

house while attending night classes at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

. He returned to Germany in 1904 to attend the

Kunstgewerbeschule A Kunstgewerbeschule (English: ''School of Arts and Crafts'' or S''chool of Applied Arts'') was a type of vocational arts school that existed in German-speaking countries from the mid-19th century. The term Werkkunstschule was also used for the ...

in Munich where he studied

wood carving Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculpture, ...

and learned the techniques of wood block prints. After returning to the United States, he began producing color woodcuts as early as 1908, earning his living as a graphic artist. He spent time in

Brown County, Indiana Brown County is a county in south-central Indiana which in 2020 had a population of 15,475. The county seat (and only incorporated town) is Nashville. History The United States acquired the land from the Native Americans, part of which for ...

as a member of the

Brown County Art Colony The Brown County Art Colony is an artist colony formed in Nashville, Indiana, Nashville and Brown County, Indiana. Adolph Shulz is considered to be the founder of the colony, encouraging many Indiana and regional artists to come to Brown County to ...

, developing his printmaking technique. He followed the traditional European method of color relief printing using oil-based inks and printing his blocks on a small press. This contrasted with the trend at the time of many American artists to employ hand rubbed woodblock prints in the Japanese traditional style. By this time he had developed his personal artist's seal: the opened palm of a hand on a heart. His Mill Pond is the largest color woodcut produced at the time. These were shown at the 1915

Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely s ...

where Baumann won the gold medal for color woodcut. In 1918, he headed to the Southwest to inquire into the artists' colony of

Taos, New Mexico Taos () is a town in Taos County, New Mexico, Taos County, in the north-central region of New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Initially founded in 1615, it was intermittently occupied until its formal establishment in 1795 by Santa Fe ...

. Thinking it too crowded and too social, he boarded the train which stopped in Santa Fe. Its

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership, be accessible to all, or have restrictions in place. Although ...

had opened the previous year and its curator, Paul Water, persuaded Baumann to stay in Santa Fe. In Santa Fe, Baumann befriended many local artists and took part in various community celebrations. He made the head of the first

Zozobra Zozobra (also known as Old Man Gloom and sometimes branded as Will Shuster's Zozobra) is a giant marionette effigy constructed of wood, wire and cotton cloth that is built and burned on the Friday of Labor Day weekend prior to the annual F ...

and carved and performed with

marionette A marionette ( ; ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by ...

s. He was a member of the

Society of American Graphic Artists The Society of American Graphic Artists (SAGA) is a not for profit national fine arts organization serving professional artists in the field of printmaking. SAGA provides its members with exhibition, reviews and networking opportunities in the Ne ...

and the

Taos Society of Artists The Taos Society of Artists was an organization of visual arts founded in Taos, New Mexico. Established in 1915, it was disbanded in 1927. The Society was essentially a commercial cooperative, as opposed to a stylistic collective, and its foundation ...

. Baumann married Jane Devereaux Henderson on June 25, 1925. Their daughter, Ann, was born on July 31, 1927. He remained in Santa Fe for more than fifty years until his death there in 1971.

Artwork

In addition to his popular color woodcuts, Baumann also made

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

s and furniture. His work depicted southwestern landscapes, ancient Indian

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s, scenes of

pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

life, and gardens and orchards. File:'Apple Blossom', wood block print by Gustave Baumann.JPG, ''Apple Blossom,'' wood block print, 1917 File:'Aspen Red River' by Gustave Baumann, New Mexico Museum of Art.JPG, ''Aspen Red River,'' 1924 File:Summer Clouds by Gustave Baumann, 1925, color woodcut.jpg, ''Summer Clouds,'' 1925, color woodcut File:Rain in the Mountains by Gustave Baumann, 1926, color woodcut.png, ''Rain in the Mountains,'' 1926, color woodcut

Prints

Refer to Gala Chamberlain's book ''In A Modern Rendering: The Color Woodcuts of Gustave Baumann: A Catalog Raisonne'' (2019) to see an array of works completed by Gustave Baumann during his lifetime. This book documents over 429 distinct images. Highlights include: * ''In the Hills o' Brown'' (1910) :Twelve prints depicting views of

Nashville, Indiana Nashville is a town in Washington Township, Brown County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,256 at the 2020 census. The town is the county seat of Brown County and is the county's only incorporated town. The town is best known as the ...

, as well as interior scenes. Includes ''The Blacksmith Shop'', ''The Print Shop'', ''The Town of Nashville'', ''The Wagon Shop'', ''In the Hills o' Brown'', ''The Rug Weaver'', ''The Courthouse Yard'', ''An Evening Chat'', ''Clinching the Argument'', ''The Suspension Bridge'', ''The Door Yards'', and ''Mathis Alley''. * ''New Mexico Portfolio'' (1924) :Comprises ''Cliff Dwellings'', ''Sanctuario – Chimayo'', ''My Garden'', Talaya Peake, ''The Bishop's Apricot'', ''Chile con Cabre'', ''Night at the Fiesta – Taos'', ''Talpa Chapel'', ''Corn Dance – Santa Clara'', ''Lost in the Desert'', ''San Geronimo – Taos'', ''Beginning of the Fiesta'', and ''San Domingo Pueblo''. * Five views of the Grand Canyon: ''Bright Angel Trail'' (1921), ''Pines, Grand Canyon'' (1921), ''Pinon, Grand Canyon'' (1921), ''Cedar, Grand Canyon'' (1921), and ''Grand Canyon'' (c. 1927–1930). * Four Southern Arizona views (1924): ''Palo Verde and Ocotea'', ''Cholla and Sahuaro'', ''Superstition Mountain'', and ''Wild Horse Mesa''. * Mid-1920s views of the Pacific coast: ''Pelican Rookery'', ''Redwood'', ''Sequoia Forest'', ''Coast Range'', ''Singing Woods'', ''Windswept Eucalyptus'', ''Redwood Muir Woods'', ''Point Lobos'', ''Point Lobos Rock Garden'', ''Monterey Cypress'', and ''Song of the Sea''.

Illustrated books

* ''All the Year Round'' (1912, text by

James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...

), 12 electroplate illustrations by Gustave Baumann * ''Pirates! Or, The Cruise of the Black Revenge: A Melodrama in Thirteen Acts'' (1916), published by Brothers of the Book, text by Kendall Banning and 13 original woodcut illustrations by Gustave Baumann. Printing was limited to 525 copies. * ''Pirates! Or, The Cruise of the Black Revenge'', (1918) Text by Kendall Banning and 13 photoengraved illustrations by Gustave Baumann. This edition was reduced to 2/3 size of the original 1916 printing. * ''Indian Pottery Old and New'' (1919). text and woodcut illustrations by Gustave Baumann. Printing was limited to 50 copies of which only a handful were completed. * ''Chips an' Shavings'' (1929), woodcut text and 3 photoengraved illustrations by Gustave Baumann. Printing was limited to 100 copies. * ''Frijoles Canyon Pictographs'' (1939), text and 25 woodcut illustrations by Gustave Baumann. Printing was limited to 480 copies * ''Indian Pottery Old and New'' (2020). text and woodcut illustrations by Gustave Baumann. Printing was limited to 145 copies. Produced by the Press At the Palace of the Governors using Gustave Baumanns original woodblocks.

Museum collections

Baumann's work is held in the permanent collections of the

Albuquerque Museum The Albuquerque Museum, formerly known as the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, is a public art and history museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is located in the Old Town area and is operated by the City of Albuquerque Department of Arts & ...

Akron Art Museum The Akron Art Museum is an art museum in Akron, Ohio, United States. The museum first opened on February 1, 1922, as the Akron Art Institute. It was located in two borrowed rooms in the basement of the public library. The Institute offered clas ...

Indianapolis Museum of Art The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, the Garden at Newfields and more. It is located at the corner of No ...

Stark Museum of Art Stark or Starke may refer to: Places Antarctica and vicinity * Stark Point, James Ross Island * Stark Ridge, Churchill Mountains * Stark Rock, south of the Crulls Islands United States * Starke, Florida, a city * Stark, Georgia, an unincorporat ...

, among other venues.

References

Citations

Works cited

External links

*
Gustave Baumann Biography
at the Annex Galleries {{DEFAULTSORT:Baumann, Gustave 1881 births 1971 deaths 20th-century American painters 20th-century American printmakers American male painters Artists from Indiana Artists from Santa Fe, New Mexico Federal Art Project artists Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States Taos Society of Artists 20th-century American male artists