Visualizing the process: Exhibit follows Gustave Baumann work from sketches to final woodcut

Oct. 22—Behind every glowing Gustave Baumann print lies a litany of studies, blocks and proofs.

A University of New Mexico Art Museum curator has gathered that sequence in "Cottonwood Tassels: Gustave Baumann's Prints, Proofs, and Process" in the Clinton Adams Gallery through March 9, 2024.

The exhibition reveals the profession of Baumann's print from beginning sketches to final woodcut, with all the steps in between. Visitors can see Baumann's preliminary studies, trial proofs and woodblocks.

"He used basswood for all of these," curator Angel Jiang said. "It's a softer wood, so he could really carve into it.

"Baumann valued craft," she continued. "He studied wood carving. When you see these wood blocks, you can really see his skill."

The exhibition includes preliminary tempera studies he made; he sketched them out before producing a full painting, Jiang said.

"The colors approximated the inks he would use," she added.

He then traced the study onto the block and began carving.

"For every single color, you need a different wood block," Jiang said.

The show displays 20 objects related to a single edition, including a tempera study, seven wood blocks, six color impressions and four progressive proofs.

"This is all for just one set of prints," Jiang said. "He experimented a lot. He was interested in variations. He was really resourceful. He reused things."

The cottonwood he so lovingly depicted was located on the grounds of the El Mirador Ranch in Alcalde, where Baumann and his wife often spent weekends.

"The tree is a real cottonwood tree," Jiang said. "Sometimes people can find the exact location."

Jiang curated the exhibit as a show-and-tell education in printmaking.

"I think the best way to understand printmaking is to visualize it," she said. "You can show people how the print was made."

Baumann was born in Magdeburg, Germany, and moved to the U.S. in 1891 with his family. By age 17 he was working for an engraving house while attending night classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. He returned to Germany in 1904 to attend the Kunstgewerbeschule (vocational art school) in Munich, where he studied wood carving 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.

In 1918, he headed to the Southwest to inquire into the artists' colony of Taos. Thinking it too crowded and too social, he boarded the train, stopping in Santa Fe. Its art museum had opened the previous year and its curator, Paul Water, persuaded Baumann to stay in Santa Fe.

Baumann befriended many local artists and took part in various community celebrations. He made the head of the first Zozobra and carved and performed with marionettes.

He remained in Santa Fe for more than 50 years until his death there in 1971.