GUSTAVE BAUMANN (American, 1881-1971) "CHOLLA AND SAHUARO". Woodblock print. Signed lower right in pencil Gustauv Baumann with artist Chop Mark. Edition number 49/125. Titled in pencil lower left CHOLLA AND SHUARO. Good condition. Image measures 12 ¾" x 12 ¾". Frame measures 20" x 19".

His family emigrated to the United States when he was a child, and he grew up in Chicago. He returned to Germany to study in Munich at the Kunstgewerbe Schule and then took further training at the Art Institute of Chicago. He spent time in Indiana, and is much associated with the artists who gravitated to Brown County. In that state, Bauman made woodblocks illustrating work by Indiana authors.

Baumann and several other artists decided to see first hand the reportedly light, clear air of New Mexico that they had been hearing about from other Chicago artists, and in 1918, he settled in Santa Fe where, for over fifty years, he participated in the art community.

He created colored wood blocks from which he made prints, and also became a carver of saints and marionettes, working the Marionnette Theater, and carving his 'little people'. He also did numerous paintings in bright colors.

His woodcut subjects are church figures, scenes of sacred Indian pictographs, and landscapes including the Grand Canyon.

During the 1930s, he was WPA coordinator for Santa Fe.”