The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Singing Woods

1928, printed after 1931

Gustave Baumann

(American, born Germany, 1881–1971)
America
color woodcut with aluminum leaf
Sheet: 41.9 x 36.6 cm (16 1/2 x 14 7/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1998.43
© Ann Baumann Trust
Catalogue raisonné: Chamberlain 128.3; Acton, Krause & Yurtseven 101
Location: Not on view

Description

The location of Singing Woods is Laguna Beach, California, just south of Los Angeles. Eucalyptus trees were planted in 1876 and had become dense fragrant groves by the time Baumann visited in 1928. In a letter to his wife, Jane, the artist reports that the “eucalyptus trees are a different variety from those in Phoenix, still more lacy and with the full moon shining through them.” Although Baumann also printed the sky in either blue or green ink, Singing Woods is the first print where aluminum leaf is sometimes used in the background instead of a color. The metallic accent adds a bright sheen to an otherwise dense, dark forest.
  • Chamberlain, Gala, Gustave Baumann, Nancy E. Green, and Tom Leech. In a Modern Rendering: The Color Woodcuts of Gustave Baumann : a Catalogue Raisonné. 2019. Reproduced and mentioned: pp. 356-359, cat. 128.3
  • Gustave Baumann: Colorful Cuts. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 20, 2020-June 27, 2021).
    Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 17-November 9, 2003).
    From Rembrandt to Rauschenberg: Recently Acquired Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17-November 26, 2000).
  • {{cite web|title=Singing Woods|url=false|author=Gustave Baumann|year=1928, printed after 1931|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1998.43