William Turnbull (artist)
Encyclopedia
William Turnbull is a British artist. He is considered one of the finest British artists contributing today. He has always been both a painter and a sculptor And his sculpture is considered influential.
. When his father to lost his job as a shipyard engineer, Turnbull, then aged 15, was forced to leave school and find part time work first as a laborer and then painting film posters. He began attending an evening drawing class at Dundee University where he was taught by landscape artist James Macintosh Patrick
and illustrator Fred Mould.
In 1939 he obtained a poistion at DC Thomson,a large Dundee magazine and newspaper publisher. It was here that Turnbull had his first real exposure to commercial illustration and learned to be precise. Through his colleagues, many of whom had attended art school, he had his first introduction to contemporary European art and literature; Cezanne and Monet were particularly important to him.
broke broke out, Turnbull enlisted in the RAF. After the end of the war, Turnbull enrolled 1946 at The Slade in the painting department but found the limited view of art and the narrow approach to technical matters not to his liking. At the time The Slade championed a nostalgic and naturalistic neo-Romanticism
and was suspicious of the European Impressionist and post-Impressionist that Turnbull had come to regard as valid and direct. Being older and more experienced than the rest of the students, he was not impressed or overawed by his tutors and did not change his opinions. He became disillusioned with the painting course and transferred to the sculpture department.
It was in the sculpture department that he met Eduardo Paolozzi
and Nigel Henderson
, who shared his interest in contemporary Continental modernist art. As he became increasingly disillusioned by the attitudes at The Slade, he relocated to Paris 1948.
. He returned to Paris but by the end of the year, having run out of money and unable to find a way to survive, Turnbull was forced to return to London where he took up residence. Times were hard and he was forced to take a part time job working the night shift at a Lyon
s ice cream factory.
In 1952, he was included in the Young Sculptors exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts
(ICA) which had become the focal point for new art in London. Turbull, along with Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton
and others, became a member of the Independent Group, a splinter group within the ICA which became an important forum for discussion and debate. The Independent Group has been cited as a progenitor of Pop Art
.
Turnbull was also included in New Aspects Of British Sculpture, an exhibition in the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennials selected by Herbert Reed which has been described by Tim Marlow
as "part of the momentum of British Art in the post war period".
In 1955, Turnbull was introduced to a young American collector Donald Blinken (who would subsequently become the chairman of the Rothko Foundation), who purchased one of Turnbull’s sculptures, Female Standing Figure. When Turnbull travelled to New York in 1957, Blinken introduced him to a number of the leading American artists such as Mark Rothko
and Barnett Newman
white whom he established a close relationship.
an artist Kim Lim. In 1962 he traveled to Japan, Cambodia, and Lim’s native Singapore. A series of totemic sculptures followed which were inspired by the religious sites he visited in these travels.
Around this time he began teaching sculpture at the Central School Of Art. Having learned to weld in the foundry he created there with colleague Brian Wall, Turnbull began to work with stainless steel, a medium he would continue to work with for the next eight years.
In 1967 he began to work with perspex and fiberglass, materials he valued for their reflective quality and transparency.
In 1973, Turnbull had a major retrospective exhibition at the Tate Gallery
which was curated by Richard Morphet. Seeing all his work placed together like this in a single exhibition caused Turnbull to rethink the direction of his work and he began to move away from the steel and more modular sculptures he had been creating and began a return to the more molded, textured work of his early career.
Turnbull has since exhibited at the Whitechapel
, has had retrospectives at both the Serpentine
and at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
, as well as numerous prestigious oversees exhibitions and a survey exhibition at the Tate’s Duveen Hall in 2006. He later had a show at Waddington Galleries which featured previously unseen paintings and sculpture.
Early life
William Turnbull was born in 1922 in Dundee to John Turnbull and Anne Turnbull. Fascinated by art from an early age, Turnbull initially learned to draw by copying illustrations from magazines. During hus youth, Britain, and places like Dundee in particular, were hard hit by the depressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. When his father to lost his job as a shipyard engineer, Turnbull, then aged 15, was forced to leave school and find part time work first as a laborer and then painting film posters. He began attending an evening drawing class at Dundee University where he was taught by landscape artist James Macintosh Patrick
James MacIntosh Patrick
James McIntosh Patrick, RSA was a Scottish painter, celebrated for his finely observed paintings of the Angus landscape and Dundee, Scotland, where he was based for most of his life....
and illustrator Fred Mould.
In 1939 he obtained a poistion at DC Thomson,a large Dundee magazine and newspaper publisher. It was here that Turnbull had his first real exposure to commercial illustration and learned to be precise. Through his colleagues, many of whom had attended art school, he had his first introduction to contemporary European art and literature; Cezanne and Monet were particularly important to him.
War and postwar beginnings
When World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke broke out, Turnbull enlisted in the RAF. After the end of the war, Turnbull enrolled 1946 at The Slade in the painting department but found the limited view of art and the narrow approach to technical matters not to his liking. At the time The Slade championed a nostalgic and naturalistic neo-Romanticism
Neo-romanticism
The term neo-romanticism is used to cover a variety of movements in music, painting and architecture. It has been used with reference to very late 19th century and early 20th century composers such as Gustav Mahler particularly by Carl Dahlhaus who uses it as synonymous with late Romanticism...
and was suspicious of the European Impressionist and post-Impressionist that Turnbull had come to regard as valid and direct. Being older and more experienced than the rest of the students, he was not impressed or overawed by his tutors and did not change his opinions. He became disillusioned with the painting course and transferred to the sculpture department.
It was in the sculpture department that he met Eduardo Paolozzi
Eduardo Paolozzi
Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi, KBE, RA , was a Scottish sculptor and artist. He was a major figure in the international art sphere, while, working on his own interpretation and vision of the world. Paolozzi investigated how we can fit into the modern world to resemble our fragmented civilization...
and Nigel Henderson
Nigel Henderson (artist)
Nigel Henderson was an artist and photographer.He studied at the Slade School of Fine Art. In the early 1950s he was a member of the Independent Group, and taught at the Central School of Art with Anthony Froshaug, Edward Wright and Eduardo Paolozzi.He took part in the exhibition This is Tomorrow...
, who shared his interest in contemporary Continental modernist art. As he became increasingly disillusioned by the attitudes at The Slade, he relocated to Paris 1948.
The 1950s
In 1950 Turnbull had a joint exhibition with Paolozzi at the Hanover Gallery in London which was curated by David SylvesterDavid Sylvester
Anthony David Bernard Sylvester CBE, was a British art critic and curator. Although he received no formal education in the arts, during his long career he was influential in promoting modern artists, in particular the work of Joan Miró, Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon.Born into a well connected...
. He returned to Paris but by the end of the year, having run out of money and unable to find a way to survive, Turnbull was forced to return to London where he took up residence. Times were hard and he was forced to take a part time job working the night shift at a Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
s ice cream factory.
In 1952, he was included in the Young Sculptors exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
(ICA) which had become the focal point for new art in London. Turbull, along with Paolozzi and Richard Hamilton
Richard Hamilton
Richard Hamilton may refer to:*Richard Hamilton , Irish officer*Richard Hamilton, 4th Viscount Boyne , Irish MP for Navan*Richard Hamilton , American actor...
and others, became a member of the Independent Group, a splinter group within the ICA which became an important forum for discussion and debate. The Independent Group has been cited as a progenitor of Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
.
Turnbull was also included in New Aspects Of British Sculpture, an exhibition in the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennials selected by Herbert Reed which has been described by Tim Marlow
Tim Marlow
Tim Marlow is a British writer, broadcaster and art historian. He is best known for his regular feature on Channel Five - Tim Marlow on..., an occasional series in which he looks at current art exhibitions. He has also had several other art programs, radio programs and publications...
as "part of the momentum of British Art in the post war period".
In 1955, Turnbull was introduced to a young American collector Donald Blinken (who would subsequently become the chairman of the Rothko Foundation), who purchased one of Turnbull’s sculptures, Female Standing Figure. When Turnbull travelled to New York in 1957, Blinken introduced him to a number of the leading American artists such as Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz , was a Russian-born American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter".- Childhood :Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Vitebsk Province, Russian...
and Barnett Newman
Barnett Newman
Barnett Newman was an American artist. He is seen as one of the major figures in abstract expressionism and one of the foremost of the color field painters.-Early life:...
white whom he established a close relationship.
The 1960s and later
In 1960, Turnbull married the SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an artist Kim Lim. In 1962 he traveled to Japan, Cambodia, and Lim’s native Singapore. A series of totemic sculptures followed which were inspired by the religious sites he visited in these travels.
Around this time he began teaching sculpture at the Central School Of Art. Having learned to weld in the foundry he created there with colleague Brian Wall, Turnbull began to work with stainless steel, a medium he would continue to work with for the next eight years.
In 1967 he began to work with perspex and fiberglass, materials he valued for their reflective quality and transparency.
In 1973, Turnbull had a major retrospective exhibition at the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
which was curated by Richard Morphet. Seeing all his work placed together like this in a single exhibition caused Turnbull to rethink the direction of his work and he began to move away from the steel and more modular sculptures he had been creating and began a return to the more molded, textured work of his early career.
Turnbull has since exhibited at the Whitechapel
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
, has had retrospectives at both the Serpentine
Serpentine (lake)
The Serpentine is a 28-acre recreational lake in Hyde Park, London, England, created in 1730. Although it is common to refer to the entire body of water as the Serpentine, strictly the name refers only to the eastern half of the lake...
and at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Yorkshire Sculpture Park
The Yorkshire Sculpture Park in West Bretton, Wakefield, in West Yorkshire, England is an open-air gallery showing work by UK and international artists, including Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth...
, as well as numerous prestigious oversees exhibitions and a survey exhibition at the Tate’s Duveen Hall in 2006. He later had a show at Waddington Galleries which featured previously unseen paintings and sculpture.