Hillside Woods

Gustave Baumann

The locale for this color woodcut is Hillside in Wyoming, New York, which was the summer home of Lydia Coonley Ward. Baumann created his first sketches of Hillside in 1917 while teaching at Ward’s summer school. Baumann returned to Wyoming after his travels to New York City and Cape Cod and lived at Hillside during the fall of 1917 and the winter and early spring of 1918. He briefly considered settling in the village of Wyoming and establishing his studio there but a place called Taos beckoned him. Other woodcuts based upon the landscape and gardens at Hillside include Apple Blossoms, Cherry Bloom, Summer Shadows, Rainy Day Promenade, Woodland Meadows, Road to Town, and From Hillside Gardens.