Agua Caliente by Helen Bruton
Agua Caliente
Helen Bruton
Title
Agua Caliente
Artist
Year
c. 1930
Technique
woodcut
Image Size
6 1/4 x 7 1/16" image size
Signature
pencil, lower right
Edition Size
not stated, presumed small
Annotations
Reference
Paper
delicate cream laid
State
Publisher
Inventory ID
QUHI103
Price
SOLD
Description
An amusing depiction of swimmers - possibly during the height of tourist season - in the small town of Agua Caliente in Northern California. Figures in black woolen swimsuits lounge and play, carefree, in the contrasting ripples of a natural pool. In 1930 Bruton and her sister Esther spent a summer in the mountain town of Saint Helena, just an hour’s drive north of the Sonoma Valley where Agua Caliente is situated. It’s possible that the sisters took a sojourn to the valley town for a visit to its namesake, “hot waters,” the naturally formed hot springs that were formed by the geothermal disruptions of the volcanic Mt. Saint Helena thousands of years ago. Boyes Hot Springs, Fetters Hot Springs, and Agua Caliente make up what is now colloquially called “The Springs,” an area once used medicinally by local tribes, the Miwok, Pomo, and Wintun.