Background
Peter Busa was born on June 23, 1914 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. He was a son of Salvatore Busa and Ernestine (Chrispo) Busa.
Carnegie Mellon University
Art Students League of New York
Cooper Union
New York University
State University of New York at Buffalo
University of Michigan
Louisiana State University
University of Minnesota
Peter Busa was born on June 23, 1914 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. He was a son of Salvatore Busa and Ernestine (Chrispo) Busa.
Since 1930 to 1933, Peter Busa studied at Carnegie Institute of Technology (present-day Carnegie Mellon University). In 1933, he enrolled at the Art Students League of New York, where Thomas Hart Benton was his mentor. Also, during the period from 1935 to 1938, the painter attended the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts.
Stuart Davis and Arshile Gorky had a profound influence on Peter's art — both artists shifted his focus from the eastern tradition and opened his eyes to new ideas about authenticity in art. Busa visited Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of the American Indian many times and became fascinated with Native American art and culture. During that time, he co-founded the Indian Space Painters. The group was active during the 1940’s and the 1950’s.
In 1946, the painter exhibited his works at Peggy Guggenheim’s gallery "Art of the Century". Between the 1960’s and the 1970’s, Busa explored other forms of abstraction, but he revisited Indian Space ideas in the 1980’s.
Also, during his lifetime, the painter held numerous teaching positions at different educational institutions, including Cooper Union (1944–1952), New York University (1949–1953), State University of New York at Buffalo (1954–1956), University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (1957), Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge (1958), University of Minnesota (1961–1982) and others.
Peter Busa exhibited his works in numerous museums and galleries, including Whitney Museum of American Art, Bertha Schaefer Gallery, Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Elaine Benson Gallery and others.
Peter was a member of College Art Association and Artists Equity Association. He co-founded the group of abstract artists, entitled "Indian Space Painters".
Peter Busa married Jeanne Juhl on June 26, 1943. Their marriage produced five children — Christopher, Stephen, Paul, Marianne and Nicholas.