Listen to audio recordings from the Baumann family during our free Baumannia Community Day on Sun., Sept. 28, 2:15 - 2:30 p.m. at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe.

Spanning 37 recordings across 24 original media items from 78 rpm records to reel-to-reel tapes and cassettes, the recently digitized audio in the Ann Baumann Trust of Gustave Baumann Material offers a unique insight into Gus’s life.

You'll hear Gus, of course, who you may be surprised to hear has no German accent and is rather Midwestern, reading his manuscripts and giving talks about art and life in Santa Fe, always signing off his recordings with “this is Gustave Baumann speaking,” a habit also picked up by his daughter, Ann.

But you’ll also find audio letters exchanged with Jane Baumann’s sisters, Mary and Belle; recordings of the family together at holidays; talks given in Santa Fe, including Randall Davey discussing the life of John Sloan; and a marionette show, as well as the backing audio used for the shows.

The audio recordings offer an intimate portrait of Gus, told not only in his own words but through the voices of those who knew him best.

Image: A Wild and Wooly trio! - Jane, Ann, and Gustave Baumann. Baumann Collection: Baumann Family Photographs. PAAC.076.02.0033. NMHM/DCA.