Scottish painter, sculptor and commercial designer. He worked as an illustrator for a publisher of periodicals in Dundee (1939-41) and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London (1946-48). He spent two years in Paris and, on his return to London, shared a studio Eduardo Paolozzi with whom he exhibited at the Hanover Gallery in 1950. His reputation grew alongside that of the generation of British sculptors recognised at the 1952 Venice Biennale. He got involved with the Independent Group at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, whose scientific, philosophical and sociological ideas greatly interested him. In the mid 50s, he adopted the human head as the central theme of his art, reflecting the work of Jean Dubuffet and Constantin Brancusi. Up until 1963, his sculptures were made up of various parts where traditional materials such as bronze, stone and wood predominated. The exhibitions held at the Tate Gallery in London, Modern Art in the United States (1956) and New American Painting (1959), as well as his first visit to the United States in 1957, were of extreme importance to his painting. The influence of American art at the end of the 60s, continued to be clear in the growing variety of materials and forms used by this artist. In response to the general tendency of the 70s to express sensory experiences and historical memories, Turnbull returned, around 1977, to small-sized, modelled sculptures. His final works, although evocative of his 50s sculpture, are more intimate and less intimidating.
