Art Brokerage: The painter and photographer Norval Hamilton Busey (1845-1928) operated a photography studio at the corner of Charles and Fayette Streets in Baltimore, possibly in the early 1870s. Bucking the trends of the time toward elaborate backdrops and props, Busey allows the subject's strong features and clear, direct gaze to confront the viewer without adornment or pretense. Busey's only concession to the pressures of professional trends was to use the bold script signature popularized by New York’s phtographer-to-the stars Napoleon Sarony. Born in Virginia to Methodist clergyman Thomas H. Busey in 1845, Norval Busey settled with his family in Baltimore between 1850 and 1860. According to Maryland historian Ross J. Kelbaugh’s biography of Busey, the young man worked for photographers Stanton & Butler until 1867, when he opened his own studio in York, Pennsylvania. By 1870, Busey had returned to Baltimore with his wife, Emma, and their three daughters, Blanche, Rosamund, and Emma. In 1900, Busey, now a widower, had relocated to New York City, where he opened a gallery and associated with the artists of the Salmagundi Club. Busey, who is said to have studied in Paris under Bouguereau, was ultimately more interested in painting than in photography. A number of his portraits of members of the Duke family hang in the Duke University Lilly Library, including Benjamin N. Duke, his wife, Sarah Pearson Duke, and their children, Angier and Mary. Busey also showed the works of other artists in his photography studio and gallery, including Arthur Quartley’s seascapes. He died at the Hinsdale, Illinois home of his fourth daughter, Ina Hamilton Butler, second wife of Chicago publisher Burridge Davenal Butler, on May 20th, 1928. His place of burial has not yet been located. Busey’s only son, Norval H. Busey, Jr., became an attorney. Art Brokerage is interested in purchasing any Norvel Busey paintings, photographs or drawings.
