Fonds consists of papers which largely comprise Peter Dobush's records relating to his art collection; also included is a small amount of material related to his profession as an architect.
Fonds also includes numerous drawings and topographical sketches of various Canadian locations; political cartoons acquired by the donor from numerous artists; as well as architectural and landscape views.
Dobush, Peter, 1908-1980 : Peter Dobush was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, of Ukrainian parentage. He studied architecture at the University of Winnipeg, graduating in 1931. After working briefly in private practice, he spent the war years working for Defence Industries Ltd. in Montreal, which led to his design work for the atomic energy plants in Chalk River and Deep River, Ontario. He joined the National Research Council in 1946.
In 1950, Dobush returned to private practice and in 1955 he became a partner in the Montreal architectural firm Dobush and Stewart. Over the years, the firm took on various partners and its name changed to reflect this. Dobush, Stewart, Bourke in 1960, it eventually became Dobush, Hein and Associates, with offices in Montreal and Ottawa.
Peter Dobush was an avid art collector, collecting both historical and contemporary Canadian art. He bought both directly from the living artist and from commercial galleries, dealing with Gallery 1640, Artlenders, and Walter Klinkhoff in Montreal, Laing Galleries in Toronto, Richardson Bros. in Winnipeg and Robertson Galleries in Ottawa, among others. He donated some of his private collection to the Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre (one of his design projects) in Newfoundland and another portion of his collection to the Winnipeg Art Gallery, including works by F.A. Verner, James Wilson Morrice, Ozias Leduc, Marc-Aurèle Fortin, the Group of Seven, David Milne, Jean-Paul Lemieux, L.L. Fitzgerald and Walter J. Phillips. He also collected political cartoons.
An accomplished draftsman, Dobush created many sketches himself on his travels, including ones of street scenes, landscapes and architectural views. He died in Montreal in 1980.
