Three Pines is a color woodcut created in 1926 by American master printmaker Gustave Baumann. This impression is pencil signed, titled, and dated '56 following the signature. Three Pines was first printed in an edition of 100 in 1926. In 1937, Baumann completed a second edition of 125, and in 1956, he printed fifty or fewer impressions in anticipation of sales due to his alcove exhibition at the Museum of New Mexico Art Gallery (now the New Mexico Museum of Art). These impressions often bear the year of printing but were not formally editioned. This impression was printed by the artist on cream Zanders laid paper with the Hand-in-Heart watermark. The image measures 10-7/8 x 9-3/8 inches.
The reference for Three Pines is Chamberlain 109. For an explanation of the various printing campaigns and the number of colors and blocks used, we refer you to pages 316-318 of In A Modern Rendering: The Color Woodcuts of Gustave Baumann. A Catalogue Raisonné. This was Baumann’s only color woodcut of Colorado and the location is Estes Park in Rocky Mountain National Park.
This July, the New Mexico Museum of Art opens the first gallery for the retrospective exhibition Gustave Baumann: The Artist’s Environment. The entire exhibition will unfold over the summer with more galleries of Baumann’s work opening, until the full exhibition opens on 26 September 2025. The exhibition will feature his color woodcuts, paintings, drawings, marionettes, furniture, and sculpture. Accompanying the exhibition will be a richly illustrated catalog of essays that focus on how the environment informed Baumann’s work and how Baumann’s respect for the land and the cultures of the Southwest informed his activism. For more information visit The New Mexico Museum of Art.
Also, this coming September, the Fray Angélico Chávez History Library of the New Mexico History Museum will hold a celebration of the Gustave Baumann Archive. Due to the hard work of many at the library and photo archives, the Gustave Baumann Archive is online at Gustave Baumann Discovery Garden. The plans are still in progress but the event will take place on 28 September.
