Melva bucksbaum biography books

American art collector

Melva Jane Bucksbaum (née Venezky; April 5, 1933 – August 16, 2015) was an American art collector, curator, and patron of the arts.

Early life

Bucksbaum was born in Washington, D.C., on April 5, 1933, to William Venezky and Millie Ruth Venezky (née Bronstein), two Russian Jewish immigrants to the United States.

Bucksbaum attended the University of Maryland.^[1]

Philanthropy and art collection

Bucksbaum served as the president of the Des Moines Art Center board. In 1996, Bucksbaum and her family endowed the Martin Bucksbaum Professorship in Urban Planning and Design at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University in memory of her late husband.^[2] Additionally, she established the Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture Series in Des Moines, Iowa at Drake University.^[3]

Bucksbaum began serving on the Whitney Museum of American Art's board of trustees in 1996 and eventually became its vice chair