Fred Bushe 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
building s 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.