Martin H. Bush papers
name: label: Creator
content: Bush, Martin H.
label: Names
content: ACA Galleries
label: Names
content: Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art
label: Names
content: Wichita State University -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Andrews, Benny, 1930-2006
label: Names
content: Beckett, Samuel, 1906-1989
label: Names
content: Goodnough, Robert, 1917-
label: Names
content: Hanson, Duane
label: Names
content: Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012
label: Names
content: Neel, Alice, 1900-1984
label: Names
content: Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988
label: Names
content: Newman, Arnold, 1918-2006
label: Names
content: Pousette-Dart, Richard, 1916-1992
label: Names
content: Trova, Ernest T., 1927-
label: Names
content: Von Wicht, John, 1888-1970
label: Names
content: Witkin, Isaac
topic: label: Occupation
content: Educators
label: Occupation
content: Art historians
label: Occupation
content: Consultants
label: Topic
content: Art -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: Gallery directors
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated in 2013 by Martin H. Bush. An unprocessed addition to the collection was donated by Lisa Bush Hankin in 2016.
creator: label: Creator
content: Bush, Martin H.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Martin H. Bush papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of Martin H. Bush measure 5.1 linear feet and 0.705 GB and date from 1948-2012, with the bulk of the material dating from 1970-2008.  The collection documents Bush's career as an art historian, educator, consultant, and gallery director through biographical material, correspondence, interviews, subject files, a scrapbook, and printed and digital material. There is an unprocessed addition to this collection that includes one VHS tape, "American Art Forum: Martin Bush, October 27, 1988."
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Martin H. Bush is an art historian, educator, consultant, and gallery director.

Bush received a Bachelor of Arts from the State University of New York at Albany in 1958. From 1963-1965, he taught at Syracuse University, where he earned his Ph.D in History in 1966.  Bush also served as the University's Assistant Dean for Academic Resources from 1965-1970.  During this time, Martin H. Bush was also a consultant to the New York State Education Department.

From 1970-1974, Martin H. Bush was the Vice President of Academic Resource Development at Wichita State University, a position created for him by the University's President, Clark  Ahlberg. In this post, Bush established a special collections department at Ablah Library and the Ulrich Museum of Art.  Bush was also a consultant to several major corporations in Wichita, including Fourth Financial Corporation, Range Oil Company, and American Diversified Real Estate. In 1974, in recognition of Bush's contribution to the museum, the University opened the Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection.  Bush has been involved in the acquisition of major pieces of outdoor sculpture from such well-known artists as Chaim Gross, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Juan Miró, Louise Nevelson, and George Rickey.   In 1989, Bush moved to New York City, where he continued his work as an art consultant.  From 1992-1993, he was President of the ACA Gallery.  

Martin H. Bush has published many books and articles on artists as well as contributed essays for exhibition catalogs.  In the 1970s-1980s, Bush interviewed major artists for public television and radio programs in Wichita, among them Benny Andrews, Isabel Bishop, Richard Pousette-Dart, and Theodoros Stamos.  Martin H. Bush's honors and awards include the George S. Patton Medal by the government of Luxembourg for his essay, "Ben Shahn: The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti," 1969;  "Outstanding Educator" by the Kansas Art Education Association, 1979; and the Wichita Arts Council Award, 1984.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 5.1 Linear feet
label: Extent
content: 0.705 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1948-2012
label: Date
content: bulk 1970-2008
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.bushmart
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 6 series.

Series 1:  Biographical Material, 1956-2008 (Box1, OV 5; 0.2 linear feet) 

Series 2:  Correspondence, 1984-2012 (Box 1; 0.8 linear ft.) 

Series 3:  Interviews, circa 1970-1994 (Boxes 1-2; 1 linear ft.) 

Series 4:  Subject Files, 1963-2012 (Boxes 2-4; 2 linear ft., ER01; 0.705 GB)

Series 5:  Scrapbook, 1971-2000 (Box 4; 1 folder)

Series 6:  Printed Material, 1948, 1964-circa 2000 (Box 4, 0.25 linear ft.)

Series 7: Unprocessed addition, 1988 (Box 4)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: This collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared in 2014 by Joy Goodwin. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2021 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of Martin H. Bush measure 5.1 linear feet and 0.705 GB and date from 1948-2012, with the bulk of the material dating from 1970-2008.  The collection documents Bush's career as an art historian, educator, consultant, and gallery director through biographical material, correspondence, interviews, subject files, a scrapbook, and printed and digital material. There is an unprocessed addition to this collection that includes one VHS tape, "American Art Forum: Martin Bush, October 27, 1988."

Biographical material includes curriculum vitae, a certificate of discharge from the United States Army Reserve, and a lifetime membership certificate from the Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art.  Most of the correspondence is personal in nature and consists of letters between Bush and his colleagues at Wichita State University and the Ulrich Museum of Art, friends, and family members.  Martin H. Bush's interviews on videocassette with artists and other figures in the art world include Benny Andrews, Duane Hanson, Ivan Karp, Alice Neel,  Louise Nevelson, and Arnold Newman.  

Subject files primarily document Martin H. Bush's activities as an art dealer and consultant and contain auction house sales and files on individual artists, including Richard Pousette-Dart, Robert Goodnough, Ernest Trova, and Isaac Witkin.   Source files include illustrated letters by John Von Wicht and a folder on Samuel Beckett's correspondence with Bush that includes three holograph letters and one typescript letter from Beckett.   A small amount of material references Bush's tenure as director of the ACA Gallery.  Photographic and digital materials are also included.

A scrapbook contains news clippings and excerpts of newsletters covering Bush's career at Wichita State University.  Printed material includes books, an educational brochure, exhibition catalogs, and a memorial booklet.