Bushe, Fred, RSA
1931 – 2009
Fred Bushe studied sculpture at Glasgow School of Art between 1949 and 1953. He proceeded to spend two years in Nigeria. In the 1960s he taught in the School of Art Education at the University of Birmingham, lectured in sculpture at Liverpool College of Education and finally at Aberdeen College of Education retiring from this post in 1979. In 1980 he established the Scottish Sculpture Workshop at Lumsden and in 1981 the Scottish Sculpture Open Exhibition. He has exhibited at the RSA since 1952, he became an Associate Member of the RSA in 1977 and an Academician in 1986. For obituary for the sculptor vide 2011 RSA Annual Exhibition catalogue, p.21; "FRED BUSHE OBE RSA (1931-2009) Born in Lanarkshire in 1931, Frederick Joseph William Bushe was the son of a tailor in Coatbridge and studied at Glasgow School of Art (1949-53). Following art school he spent his national service in Nigeria as an education officer. After working as an apprentice welder, he was awarded an advanced diploma in art and education at the University of Birmingham School of Art. Fred then went on to teach art at Aberdeen College and accepted commissions for sculptures. In the late 1970s he took early retirement and, whilst looking for a studio in Aberdeenshire, he came across an old bakery in Lumsden, near Huntly, with a flat and a variety of outhouses. The development of this complex of buildings became the Scottish Sculpture Workshop (SSW), opening its doors in 1979, originally under the auspices of WASPS (Workshop Artists Studio Provision Scotland). The forming of this workshop facility enabled artists considerable space to make and exhibit works and became a focal point for sculptural activity in Scotland. The facility was further upgraded in 1996 by the addition of a foundry which reinforced its international reputation as a centre of excellence for sculptural activity. In 1981, Fred established the biennial Scottish Sculpture Open at Kildrummy Castle at Alford. It provided an opportunity to display large works by artists in the garden. This format has been much copied since in Glasgow, Edinburgh and beyond. Fred had successful one-man exhibitions at Edinburgh's Talbot Rice Gallery in 1982, London's Camden Arts Centre and the Pier Arts Centre in Orkney. Fred was elected as a Member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1977 and awarded an OBE in 1995. His work is held in the RSA Collection, Liverpool University and the Collection of the University of Glasgow Hunterian Museum."
