White Glove Sale

Santa Fe Art Auction revels in their highly successful sale of Gustave Baumann’s woodcut prints.

Santa Fe Art Auction is beyond ecstatic by their results from the December Gustave Baumann Sale, featuring 61 items from a single, distinguished collection in New Mexico. The auction house experienced the rare “white glove sale,” selling every single lot, and then achieving a remarkable $728,000 in total sales.

This profound collection “spanned the full diversity of the artists career from his earliest days in New York City, through his time in Chicago, and then Brown County, Indiana, until finally settling in New Mexico,” says Gillian Blitch, Santa Fe Art Auction president and CEO. “The early works are important in understanding the artist’s mastery of the woodcut medium as his technique developed to keep pace with his ravishing eye for color and the brilliant compositions that characterize his love affair with the Southwest.”Gustave Baumann (1881-1971), Wash Barns Cabin, 1912, color woodcut, ed. of 50, 19¾ x 265/8” Estimate: $8/12,000 SOLD: $31,200

Gustave Baumann (1881-1971), Sanctuario Chimayo, 1924, color woodcut, edition 113 of 125, 77/8 x 6¼” Estimate: $10/15,000 SOLD: $31,200

Blitch adds that they were not surprised to see a record price and one of the highest bids at the sale for Wash Barnes Cabin, achieving $31,200 and soaring over its estimate of $8,000 to $12,000. “This Brown County, Indiana, image was one of four large-format color woodcuts that Baumann created in 1912,” says Blitch. “He advertised them as suitable for school decoration, but eventually he returned his attention to smaller, home-scaled images.”

Other notable results include examples from the New Mexico series of work were pieces like Sanctuario Chimayo (est. $10/15,000) that tied with Wash Barnes Cabin for a sale of $31,200. San Geronimo Taos greatly exceeded its estimate of $12,000 to $18,000, closing at $26,400, which was also the sale price for Spring Serenade, a classic piece that was estimated even lower at $10,000 to $15,000.Gustave Baumann (1881-1971), Spring Blossoms, 1950, color woodcut, ed. 8 of 130, 12¼ x 13 1/8” Estimate: $8/12,000 SOLD: $24,600

Gustave Baumann (1881-1971), The Patio [Watch at the Gate], 1919, color woodcut, ed. 12 of 100, 9½ x 11¼” Estimate: $2/4,000 SOLD: $7,200

“Perhaps one of the rarest items in the sale,” Blitchsays, “was The Patio [Watch at the Gate], 1919, a very early Taos image, probably prior to his eventual settlement in Santa Fe, that may never have appeared at auction before. The child featured in the doorway is thought to be one of Nicolai Fechin’s models and sold for $7,200 against an estimate of $2,000 to $4,000.”

Top bids also include Harden Hollow (est. $8/12,000) that sold well over its estimate for $28,800, The Landmark (est. $4/6,000) selling for $26,400, and the gorgeous Spring Blossoms (est. $8/12,000) that achieved a solid $24,600.

Blitch notes that despite a temporary technical issue with one of the auction’s four platforms, bidding was quite robust throughout, with all 61 lots sold to a final, successful group of 35 bidders. “We’re seeing that Baumann collectors are energetic, and they typically purchase more than one piece,” Blitch notes. —