Bright Angel Trail 1922

Gustave Baumann made this image of the Bright Angel Trail using a woodcut technique. This image invites us to consider the cultural history of the American landscape and how its representation evolved through art. Made during a period when the American West was being both romanticized and commodified, this print offers a simplified view of the Grand Canyon. The choice of the woodcut, a traditional medium, lends a sense of authenticity, yet the style distances itself from the emerging photographic imagery used by institutions such as the US Geological Survey that sought to produce a scientific rendering of the landscape. Baumann's image reflects an early 20th-century tension between preserving the wilderness and promoting its accessibility. To fully understand this work, we might examine travel advertisements and other visual materials. The meaning of this image resides not only in its aesthetic qualities but also in its dialogue with the prevailing social and cultural attitudes of its time.