Since 1967, Susan Rush Fine Arts has advised corporate and private collectors on fine art acquisition, curation, and stewardship, specializing in twentieth-century California art.
Artists working in California throughout the twentieth century have long been the focus of Susan Rush’s fine art consulting business. Artists from other regions of the United States and abroad have been included in the many private collections curated by Susan Rush in the cultural and historical spirit of the West. Important movements in California have included the Light and Space Movement of Southern California and the South West, The mid-20th-century Figurative Movement of San Francisco Bay Area painters Richard Diebenkorn and Joan Brown, Group f/64 which included Imogen Cunningham and Ansel Adams’ photographic works, and the Funk Art Movement led by artists including Robert Arneson around U.C. Davis in the 1960’s.
Selected Projects
Colorado Place, Santa Monica, CA
Dennis Oppenheim Virus, 1991, mixed media — Maguire Thomas Partners
Colorado Place, Santa Monica, CA
Ron Cooper The Big Pitcher, 1991, cast bronze — Maguire Thomas Partners
Pacific Enterprises Corporate Headquarters, Los Angeles, CA
Richard Artschwager Safe Harbor, 1990, pearwood, bronze, granite & glass — Gensler Architects
About
Susan Rush
fine art advisor and consultant
Susan Rush Fine Arts specializes in twentieth-century California art and has advised and curated many prestigious corporate and private collections across the United States since 1967.
With a background in both fine art and architecture, Susan Rush has acted as corporate, community, and private curator and advisor— creating collections that reflect the individuality and goals of each collector. Operating between San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York, her firm has built and placed major commissions, advised institutions, and guided acquisitions.
Selected Corporate Collections
- Alumax Corporation
- American General Corporation
- Aramco Services Company
- Bank of America
- Bank of California
- Citibank
- Citizens Bank of Oregon
- City National Bank
- Coopers & Lybrand
- Crocker National Bank
- Design Professionals
- Duke Energy Corporation
- Duke Power Corporation
- First International Bank of Houston
- Foremost Insurance Company
- Gulf Oil Chemical Company
- I.B.M.
- J.P. Morgan
- Kaiser-Aetna Recreational Center
- Lilick, McHose and Charles
- Maguire Thomas Partners
- Marine Midland Center
- Marshall Field & Company
- Mitsui Company
- Oxford Petroleum Co.
- Pacific Enterprises
- Pacific Gas and Electric Company
- Pacific Gas Transmission
- Pennzoil World Headquarters
- Pogo Producing Company
- Rosenberg Real Estate
- Rothman’s
- Simpson Timber Company
- The Capital Group, Inc.
- Union Oil of California
- United Gas Pipeline Company
- UNOCAL Corporation
- U.S. Navy & Marine Corps
Architects & Designers
- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
- Gensler & Associates
- Philip Johnson
- Pei, Cobb & Freed
- Piero Patri
- Keating / Rottet
- Ricardo Legorreta
- Lawrence Halprin
Selected Project Notes
Aramco Services Company
World Headquarters
Houston, TX
Commissioned photographs, photographic systems and textile weaving; designed installation on executive floors of headquarters building.
Bank of America
World Headquarters
San Francisco, CA
Prepared and installed a collection of one hundred forty pieces, including commissioned paintings and photographs, work by local artists and an important collection of antique maps.
Mitsui Corporation
Corporate Headquarters
Tokyo, Japan
Selected and commissioned cast aluminum wall sculpted by the late Jordi Bonet of Quebec, Canada.
Maguire Thomas Partners
General Offices
Santa Monica, CA
Colorado Place, Santa Monica, CA
Prepared presentations by a number of artists and organized a professional jury for the selection of seven major works for the exterior and lobby areas of the project. Worked with the project management to coordinate site preparation and installation of the works.
First Interstate World Center, Los Angeles, CA
Selected artists and commissioned murals for the building retail spaces. Worked with art committee for the selection of a major installation for the lobby by David Hockney and outdoor sculpture by Robert Graham.
The Library South Lawn, Los Angeles, CA
As art advisor representing Maguire Thomas Partners, worked with the City of Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency and the Library Board to jury and select the lead artists from a proposed group of fifty. Worked with project architects to develop a concept for the new Library South Lawn that would be consistent with the original 1926 architecture of Bertram Goodhue.
Pershing Square, Los Angeles, CA
As art advisor representing Maguire Thomas Partners, conceptualized the art program for the project and coordinated the art selection committee for the Pershing Square Property Owners Association, the City of Los Angeles, and the Cultural Affairs Department. Solicited submissions from the forty-plus artists, and coordinated jury selection of the lead artists for the project.
Commerce Towers, Philadelphia, PA
Commissioned a major installation piece by Jones and Ginzel for the lobby of the Phase I office tower.
Solana Art Park & Marriott Hotel, Solana, TX
Selected and commissioned art for the hotel lobby and other public areas. Researched art parks in North America to develop concepts for Solana; worked with developers to select an advisory board and develop programs and funding for artists-in-residence and community involvement.
Pacific Enterprises
Corporate Headquarters
Los Angeles, CA
This collection includes the work of one hundred and eighty-two artists, many of whom have major connections with California and the West. The work of forty of the artists was specially commissioned for the specific areas in the building, including the De Wain Valentine Waterwall and the eight-story David Ireland staircase. Functional art in the collection includes Richard Artschwager’s massively sculptured reception/security desk, and Sam Maloof’s handsome furniture which graces the Board of Directors conference room and other areas in the building. As well as producing a comprehensive catalog of the collection, Susan Rush Fine Arts prepared an educational video for Pacific Enterprises employees and developed a docent training program using employee volunteers to assist with public access to the collection.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
General Offices
San Francisco, CA
Commissioning a selection of paintings for the executive offices in San Francisco and Peninsula district headquarters. Developed an exhibition plan for the lobby of the building and the selection of art for rental program at San Francisco headquarters.
Pennzoil Corporation
General Offices
Houston, TX
Commissioning and selected paintings, drawings and prints for four floors of executive offices. Selection of photographic systems for seventeen floors.
United Gas Pipeline Company
General Offices
Houston, TX
Selection and curating of collection for twelve floors of office building, including eleven commissioned weavings for reception areas and one floor of executive offices. Commissioning of David Novros fresco for lobby.
Duke Energy Corporation
National Headquarters
Charlotte, NC
Selected and commissioned art for the executive floor based on the theme of energy. Rush Fine Arts completed the selection of work for the lobby areas and the executive offices of the headquarters.
European Headquarters, London
Assembled a collection of emerging and established European artists and photographers for the London headquarters.
International and North American Headquarters, Houston, TX
Selected artwork for executive office. Commissioned Jack Fulton to photograph Moss Landing, California; Morro Bay, California; and Bridgeport, Connecticut facilities.
American General Corporation
World Headquarters
Houston, TX
New York Office
The corporate collection was developed as a salute to New York City. Featuring well known photographers from the turn of the century to present, the collection consists of work by Philip Roth, Louis Stettner and Tom Baril.
Houston Office
This collection consists of American sculpture and paintings from 1893 to present including a section of the ceiling of the Chicago Stock Exchange by Louis Sullivan and commissioned photographs of architectural details of Houston by Richard Pare.
Metro Stations Art Project
Los Angeles, CA
Member of the committee to review and select art for installation in the downtown station of the Los Angeles Metro System.
Curatorial Highlights
“East Meets West”
Curator, U.S. participation, New Delhi Triennial — U.S.I.A.
Downtown Los Angeles
Public art for Library steps, Pershing Square & First Interstate World Center — Maguire Thomas Partners
UNOCAL Corporate Collection
Curator, headquarters collection, Los Angeles & Costa Mesa
Sotheby’s, New York
Consultant
Selected Press
- The New York Times — Pacific Enterprises, 1994–95
- The New York Observer — January 1996
- Los Angeles Times — Oppenheim / Disney, 1992
- Art in America — Profile, November 1976
- Art News — “How to Pick an Art Consultant”
- Architectural Record — January 1985
BFA, Kent State University
MFA, Pius XII Institute, Florence, Italy
Inquiries
Advising collectors since 1967.
