Hand of a Craftsman: The Woodcut Technique of Gustave Baumann
Editorial Reviews
Journal of the Print World, Fall 1996
Independent, prolific and influential, Gustave Baumann stands at the center of the American color woodcut movement in the first half of the twentieth century. Designed and conceived to complement the book Gustave Baumann: Nearer to Art (MNMP 1993) which focused on the artist's life and development as a printmaker, Hand of a Craftsman: The Woodcut Technique of Gustave Baumann concentrates on Baumann's printmaking methods and his remarkable achievement as one of the most masterful American craftsman of his age. Hand of a Craftsman features the unpublished notes and progressives that Baumann compiled in the making of his extraordinary woodcut, Grand Canon. The two gouache studies and thirty-four proofs in this series document the many shifts, false starts, and experiments encountered during the process of creating this six-color woodcut, offering a rare perspective into the artist's meticulous technique. Through the medium of the color woodcut Baumann's prints continue to delight viewers with the constant inspiration he found in nature. The book includes reproductions of fifty color woodcuts, most never before published. His works are vivid, brilliantly colorful, nature-inspired scenes of indigenous American life in the rural Midwest, Southwest, and Pacific Coast. Hand of a Craftsman celebrates this great artist revealing the fascinating process of color woodcut printmaking and reveling in the spirit of his process
D. Lent, Choice, January 1997
Much contemporary printmaking is accomplished by a collaboration between an artist, often a painter, and a master printer. Gustave Baumann, however, was both, so reading the present book, a precise and informative discussion of his technique as a woodcut artist, is a doubly rich experience. Acton, curator of prints and drawings at the Worcester Art Museum, has put together drawings and state proofs of several color woodcuts as well as some photos of the actual wood blocks, showing Baumann's meticulous process of image development. Acton's commentary is lucid and thorough, so that both the layperson and the student of printmaking have something to learn. Baumann (1881-1971) was born in Germany but emigrated with his family to the US at the age of ten. He returned to Germany to study art in the 20s, coming under the influence of Jugendstil in Munich. He lived most of his life in New Mexico, and his many color woodcuts pay homage to that landscape. Chronology; excellent reproductions. Recommended for libraries at colleges where printmaking is taught.
Hand of a Craftsman: The Woodcut Technique of Gustave Baumann
Hand of a Craftsman: The Woodcut Technique of Gustave Baumann,David Acton,Museum of New Mexico Press,0890132976,1881-1971,American - General,Art & Art Instruction,Baumann, Gustave,,Crafts & Hobbies,Criticism and interpretation,Hobbies/Crafts,Individual Artist,Woodwork - General,Woodwork Arts And Crafts,Baumann, Gustave,Woodworking
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