Description

The location of Singing Woods is Laguna Beach, California, just south of Los Angeles. Eucalyptus trees were planted in 1876 and had become dense fragrant groves by the time Baumann visited in 1928. In a letter to his wife, Jane, the artist reports that the “eucalyptus trees are a different variety from those in Phoenix, still more lacy and with the full moon shining through them.” Although Baumann also printed the sky in either blue or green ink, Singing Woods is the first print where aluminum leaf is sometimes used in the background instead of a color. The metallic accent adds a bright sheen to an otherwise dense, dark forest.