<p>Independent, prolific, and influential, Gustave Baumann stands at the center of American woodcut printmaking in the first half of the century. He created vivid, brilliantly colorful nature-inspired scenes of rural American life and Indian cultures. His prints are simple and elegant studies rooted in a landscape that is both delicate and rugged. This award-winning book--published in 1993--was the first published collection of his stunning oeuvre. This is the first paperbound edition of the book. Starting out as a commercial illustrator, at night Baumann studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, &quot;to get nearer to art,&quot; and also briefly in Munich, refining the fundamentals of his artistic direction and creating his first woodcuts in a medium that would bring him international recognition. Baumann lived in Chicago and Brown County, Indiana, and then spent more than a half-century in Santa Fe, taking frequent side trips about the West and California and creating his most beloved prints.</p>