Fred T. Busk Fund
TYPE OF FUND: Field of Interest
DATE ESTABLISHED: Initiated June 1991 Established Sept. 22, 1996
PURPOSE: To enable an artist of any media to pursue education, training or furtherance of their career opportunity. Age is not a factor.
DISTRIBUTION: Upon the recommendation by the Grants or Scholarship Committee and approval by the full Board of Directors of TCF.
VARIANCE POWER: If, in the judgment of the TCF Board of Directors, the restrictions and conditions of the fund become unnecessary, incapable of fulfillment or inconsistent with the charitable needs of the community, the TCF Board of Directors maintains the right to modify the terms of this fund.
FUNDING: Memorial donations by friends and family.
BACKGROUND: Fred T. Busk (1940-1991) of Davis, WV died of a heart attack May 27, 1991 at his home. He was married for 12 years to Dorothy Demboski and they shared an extended family of his three children, Frederick, Marie and Douglas Busk; and Sam, Sarah and Anne Weatherford. Fred was a photographer, ski instructor and co-founder of The Art Company of Davis.
Fred grew up in New England and Bermuda. He graduated from The Groton School, Groton, CT and attended Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT. In 1976 he moved to West Virginia as the owner of Mountain Artisans, Inc. of Charleston, which was one of the country’s most successful ventures in the design and marketing of cottage industry needlecrafts, quilts, clothing and home furnishings.
In 1978 he moved to Tucker County with Dorothy where he began to pursue his dream of becoming a photographer. Fred ran the labs for two summers a the Maine Photographic Workshop, Rockport, ME, where he worked with many of the best photographers in the field, including George Tice, Paul Caponigro and Ernest Haas. It was there that he learned and refined his black and white darkroom technique. He was hand picked by Lilo Raymond and the publisher of a series of Guide Books on Country Inns to provide all the photography for County Inns of the Pacific Northwest and Country Inns of the Rocky Mountain States. His work was accepted in the WV Juried Exhibition and published by magazines such as Mid-Atlantic Country, Outside, Ski, and many others. He was represented by the Peter Arnold Agency of New York City.
Because Fred loved to teach and share his knowledge and enthusiasm about photography, he envisioned a series of workshops in this area. He and Dorothy worked to create a program such as this in 1985 and 1986, called Alpine Visual Arts. Dorothy wrote, “As with all dreams, they don’t always work out as fast or the way they were envisioned. With the formation in 1990 of The Art Company, the concept was beginning to come around again and pick up a broad base of support. It was beginning to look like his dream would happen. We were in the process of planning photography workshops when he died, and the intention is to continue his dream.”
Fred was an avid skier and worked for many years as a ski instructor at Canaan Valley Ski area. “Here again, his love of the sport and teaching was contagious to the many students that he helped,” Dorothy added. “Fred’s life touched many people through his activities. He had a gift for making complicated things seem easy and even hilarious. His gift of humor enabled him to see the ridiculous and silly side of things, as well as the serious.”