Description

Baumann’s attendance at a marionette performance in Santa Fe in 1929 aroused his latent interest in puppets. The next year in Los Angeles, he saw the Yale Puppeteers perform at the Teatro Torito, which inspired a woodcut of the troupe. After the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, print sales decreased and Baumann hoped a puppet theater would supplement the family’s income. The artist carved marionettes and built sets while his wife Jane sewed costumes and helped write and direct the plays. Their theater, which performed at public auditoriums as well as in their living room, was a beloved institution in Santa Fe and continued until 1959.