Gustave Baumann: Cholla and Sahuaro 500-piece Jigsaw Puzzle

Gustave Baumann (American, b. Germany, 1881–1971) Cholla and Sahuaro (Saguaro), 1928 The vibrant spring landscape of the Southwest is magically depicted in this magnificent print by Gustave Baumann, reproduced for this 500-piece jigsaw puzzle. Baumann carved six color blocks to complete the image, which was inspired by the Sonoran Desert near Florence, Arizona.

Gustave Baumann

Gustave Baumann (American, 1881–1971) drew on the invigorating influences of European and American artists, along with watercolor painters and Native American potters, to produce complex color woodblock prints that reveal a country both delicate and rugged, personal and mythic. Brought from Germany to Chicago as a boy, Baumann supported his family financially while still a teenager, when he worked at an engraver’s and discovered an affinity for printmaking. He took night classes in art and saved enough money to study block printing in Munich. Back in the United States, his travels brought him to New Mexico, where he perfected his signature style and for more than 50 years captured the crystalline light and rich colors of the Southwest with affection and subtlety.