Aspen Money is a color woodcut by American master printmaker Gustave Baumann (1881-1971). Baumann began printing his blocks in 1929 but never completed his edition of 120. This impression is from the second edition of 125 and it was printed in 1946. It is pencil signed, titled, and editioned II 81-125 '46. Aspen Money was printed by the artist on cream Ansbach wove paper. All impressions from this second edition bear the roman numeral II and the image size is 12-7/8 x 12-2/3 inches.
The reference for this work is Chamberlain 132. For an explanation of this edition versus the edition begun in 1929, we refer you to pages 364-365 of In A Modern Rendering The Color Woodcuts of Gustave Baumann: A Catalogue Raisonné.
Aspen Money is also known as El Rito and El Rito Cañon. El Rito de los Frijoles Canyon is situated on the Pajarito Plateau in the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico. The canyons and plateaus became part of the Bandelier National Monument in 1916. Frijoles Canyon was one of Baumann’s favorite sketching grounds and numerous woodcuts were inspired by the natural splendor of the region.