Melva Bucksbaum was born in Washington, DC and attended Maryland University.
She has three children: Gene Bucksbaum, Glenn Bucksbaum, and Mary Bucksbaum
Scanlan, a daughter-in-law April, a son-in-law Patrick and three
grandchildren, Justin, Martin and Stella. Since 1995, Melva has been
actively managing the Martin Bucksbaum Family Foundation, and is currently a
Director of the Robert I. Goldman Foundation. Actively devoted to the arts
and philanthropy, she serves on the boards of The American Friends of the
Israel Museum; the Whitney Museum of American Art; the Committee on
Collections, Harvard University; the Woodrow Wilson International Center for
Scholars; and The Aspen Institute. She also serves on the International
Council of Museum of Modern Art, The International Committee of the Tate
Gallery, and the Christie’s American Advisory Board and as Co-Chair of
Collection Lambert Avignon in France.
In 1996, Melva and her family endowed a chair in the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University: the Martin Bucksbaum Professorship in Urban Planning and Design. Melva also endowed the Martin Bucksbaum Distinguished Lecture Series at Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa. In 2000, Melva and her children inaugurated the Bucksbaum Award, which is given to an artist of distinction and promise selected from those artists represented in the Whitney Biennial. It was conceived to support an artist for a 2-year residency culminating in an exhibition of his/her work at the Whitney.
In 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 Art News listed Melva and her husband, Raymond Learsy, as among the top 200 collectors in the world. In 2004, Melva and her daughter, Mary Bucksbaum Scanlan, gave to the Des Moines Art Center two major outdoor installation sculptures, by Joel Shapiro and Sally Pettus, to be placed on loan to the City of Des Moines.
Raymond Learsy is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is married to Melva Bucksbaum, and has two children: Serge Learsy and Dr. Dawn Learsy-Cahill.
Raymond Learsy is actively devoted to the arts and serves or has served on the following: Board of Trustees, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Presidential Appointee (1980-1986) to the National Council on the Arts; Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; International Council – Museum of Modern Art; American Friends of the Tate Gallery, U.K.; Fellow of the Aspen Institute; Committee on Collections, Harvard University.
Raymond Learsy spent his working career in the international commodities field trading in physical commodities. He is the author of “Over a Barrel: Breaking Oil’s Grip on Our Future” and is a regular contributor to the “Huffington Post.”
