Raymond Bushell

Background

Raymond Bushell was born on December 30, 1910, in New York City, New York, United States.

Education

Bushell graduated from New York University and from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Career

Bushell was an authority on the netsuke. Dating back to Japan’s Edo period (1615-1868), netsuke sculptures are miniature ivory or wood carvings in the shape of animals, birds, and the like. Bushell collected these figurines while he was stationed in Japan with the Merchant Marines during World War II. After the war, he remained in Japan where he operated his own law practice, Bushell & Asahina, in 1955. Generally, Bushell practiced law in Tokyo from 1948 to 1989.

Studying the netsuke, Bushell gained insight into the culture and customs of the Japanese tradition during the last two centuries. He contributed to art journals and wrote several books, including The Art of Netsuke Carving, which he wrote with a native carver named Masatoshi. Bushell’s other works include The Wonderful World of Netsuke, Introduction to Netsuke, Netsuke Familiar and Unfamiliar, The Inro Handbook and Netsuke Masks.

During the 1980s, Bushell donated more than six hundred netsuke works to the Los Angeles County Museum.

Achievements

• Bushell was best known as a collector of Japanese art and an authority on the miniature sculptures called netsuke.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Inro Handbook

    (Studies Of Netsuke, Inro, And Laquer; For collectors who ...)

    1979
  • Netsuke, Familiar and Unfamiliar

    (New Principles for Collecting; This volume presents endle...)

    1975
  • Netsuke Masks

    (This lavishly illustrated book takes the reader on an exc...)

    1995
  • Introduction to Netsuke

    (With dozens of photos and illustrations, A Introduction t...)

    1971
  • The Wonderful World of Netsuke

    (With 100 Masterpieces of Miniature Sculpture in Color)

    1989
  • Collectors' Netsuke

    (In this volume Mr. Bushell speaks primarily to the experi...)

    1971
  • The Netsuke Handbook Of Ueda Reikichi 1961
  • The Art of Netsuke Carving 1992

Connections

A woman named Frances was Bushell's wife.

Wife:

Frances Bushell