Gustave Baumann at the Pasadena Museum of California Art

Gustave Baumann, long a favorite of mine, just 'happened' to have an exhibit at the Pasadena Museum of Art where I had gone to see the Joseph Kleitsch show that I had read about in American Art Review. If you don't subscribe to this magazine (artists in particular) I highly recommend it for learning about not just American Artists, but the history of American Art through our founding. It is a magazine that compiles shows going on all across the US. I have learned so much over the years from this well written magazine. For instance, there was another article in this latest issue on Maynard Dixon and a show in Reno, NV of all places, currently going on. Since we were driving, I had hoped to get to that show as well, but I am grateful that I got to Pasadena, so I knew two stops, out or our way,would be pushing it.

For those who do not know Gustave Baumann's work a brief introduction. He was born (1881-1971) and raised in Germany. His family moved to the USA when he was 10, but he studied art and wood block print making back in Munich, Germany. He settled in Santa Fe, NM in 1918 thinking Taos was too crowded! His color wood block prints from NM are perhaps his best known. He also built marionettes.

Gustave's printing press.

There were a few of his gouache studies included. I had not realized that he did these studies for future block prints. The simple graphic shapes show that he is thinking all the time about how it will work in a block print.

I took this photo of one of his blocks (the finished print is below the tools) to show not only the size but the 'yellow' denoting the color of the block. Good reminder! Some of his prints had, and I am guessing, 8 individual blocks for color per print. I can only image having to register that many blocks on however many prints he was making! I struggled with 4 and my foray into block printing was nowhere near the level he took it to.

The tools of the trade. I liked the turquoise handles...

Gustave did love to do trees. I had not seen the mighty redwood print before. They showed this particular composition in each of its separate colors. I can't remember now if it was 6 or 7.

One of his early works from Germany. Simple, with only a few colors (3?) but I liked it.