Snapshot In Time: In 1932, 11 million people were out of work. The alphabet soup of relief programs was just starting to come out of FDR's New Deal administration. After this woodcut was made, Baumann served as a coordinator for the 13th Region of the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), the first nationwide government-sponsored program designed to provide work and relief for artists during the Great Depression.

Art Smart Fact: Baumann refused to print on any but the finest paper-----rag sheets impressed with the Gladbach mark. Later, distinctive oatmeal laid papers were made to the artist’s specifications. These were linen content and water-marked with Baumann’s unique Hand-In-The-Heart seal. This methodical craftsman always sought to improve his design even during printing-----he adjusted colors, modified borders, added or subtracted blocks within an edition, thereby making each woodcut virtually one-of-a-kind.

About The Art:This is an unusual image and one of Baumann's very few woodcuts that include a scene with a room or building in it. Independent and influential, Gustave Baumann stands at the center of American color relief printmaking in the 20th century. He is considered by many to be the "best of the best" of any color woodcut artist who ever worked in this difficult medium. Today, original woodcuts by Gustave Baumann cost thousands of dollars if and when you can find them.

This is a fine reproduction of MORNING SUN. Indeed, it is one of the best reproductions I have seen in over a decade of selling both original and replicated Baumann woodcuts. You will be very surprised how authentic the signature and hand-in-the-heart chop mark look and how good the colors are.....even the paper has texture. Several of the out-of-print reproductions have gone on to become valuable themselves. MORNING SUN is one of the best buys at Peggity's.