The Las Cruces Museum of Art proudly presents Gustave Baumann: A Life’s Journey.
This exhibition of prints, paintings, and furniture by an extraordinary craftsman opens on Friday, February 7, and concludes on Saturday, March 29. A reception takes places during the monthly Ramble on Friday, February 7, from 5 to 7pm.
Gustave Baumann’s family emigrated from Germany to Chicago in 1891 when he was ten years old. At sixteen, he apprenticed at an engraving house while studying at the Chicago Art Institute. In 1905 furthered his studies at the Kunstgewerbe Shule (Kunstgewerbe School) in Munich. There he began developing his signature woodblock printmaking style, which led to an accomplished career in the United States.
Baumann visited New Mexico in 1918 and was mesmerized by the vast grandeur of the Southwest. He soon moved to Santa Fe and lived there until his death in 1971. His observations of the New Mexico landscape and Pueblo life became sources for his colorful woodblock prints.
Over the course of his career, Baumann exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States and was represented by galleries in Santa Fe, Chicago, and New York. In 1952, he was named as an honorary fellow of the School of American Research in Santa Fe. A comprehensive body of his works was donated to the New Mexico Museum of Fine Art in Santa Fe by his wife, Jane, and daughter, Ann. Gustave Baumann: A Life’s Journey presents a selection of the works, on loan from the New Mexico Museum of Fine Art.
Funded by the City of Las Cruces, the Las Cruces Museum of Art is located at 491 N. Main Street. For more information, call (575) 541-2137 or visit www.las-cruces.org/museums.
Gustave Baumann (1881 – 1971), Procession, 1930, color woodcut with aluminum leaf, 13 x 12 3/4 in. Collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art. Museum purchase with funds raised by the School of American Research, 1952 (964.23G) © New Mexico Museum of Art
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