Notable People
Section P, Lot 74
One of the most popular early Kentucky portraitists was Joseph H. Bush, who studied with Thomas Sully in Philadelphia. After returning to his native state, Bush advertised in the newspaper and charged $150 per portrait. The fact that he was commissioned by some of the most prominent men of his time attests to his skill as a painter. Henry Clay, Dr. Benjamin Dudley, and even Zachary Taylor were his subjects. Like many other artists, he traveled south in the winter, often painting an entire family while he lived on his plantation in Mississippi or Louisiana.
