Richard Turner (29 December 1940 – 11 January 2013), also known as Turneramon, was a British artist and poet.

Life and work

Richard Turner was born in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

, England and was educated at

Bemrose Grammar School The Bemrose School is a foundation trust all-through school situated on Uttoxeter New Road, Derby, England, with an age range of pupils from 3 – 19. Opened as a boys' grammar school in 1930, it became a co-educational comprehensive school in ...

, before moving to study at the

School of Navigation A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

Warsash Warsash is a village in southern Hampshire, England, situated at the mouth of the River Hamble, west of the area known as Locks Heath. Boating plays an important part in the village's economy, and the village has a sailing club. It is also home ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

. In 1958, he went on to join the Merchant Navy, as a Navigation Cadet Officer, sailing with

Ellerman Lines Ellerman Lines was a UK cargo and passenger shipping company that operated from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. It was founded in the late 19th century, and continued to expand by acquiring smaller shipping lines un ...

. In 1960, he decided on a career change, and enrolled at the

Derby College of Art Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

. Turner won the J. Andrew Lloyd scholarship for Landscape, enabling him to study at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It of ...

in London, from 1963. There, he was tutored by Carol Weight and Sir Peter Blake. He graduated in 1966 with an Associate of the Royal College of Art Degree, as well as prizes in Life Drawing, Life Painting, and Landscape Painting. For the next two years, Turner was a lecturer at the

Guildford School of Art Guildford School of Art was formed in 1856 as Guildford Working Men's Institution and was one of several schools of art run by Surrey County Council. After several mergers with tertiary art institutions it became part of the University for the ...

; working on environmental installation projects with Australian artist Tony Underhill. He was introduced to etching by Peter Olley and

Norman Ackroyd Norman Ackroyd (born 26 March 1938) is an English artist known primarily for his aquatint work. He lives and is based in Bermondsey, London. Background Ackroyd was born on 26 March 1938 in Leeds, Yorkshire. He attended Leeds College of Art fr ...

. In 1968, he was employed as an

epigraphic Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

artist and photographer by the Oriental Institute of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

. For five years, he was based at Chicago House in

Luxor Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''. Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open-ai ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

; making facsimile drawings of the

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s on the walls of the

Temple of Khonsu The Temple of Khonsu is an ancient Egyptian temple. It is located within the large Precinct of Amun-Re at Karnak, in Luxor, Egypt. The edifice is an example of an almost complete New Kingdom Egyptian temple, temple, and was originally constructed b ...

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (, which was originally derived from ar, خورنق ''Khurnaq'' "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Constru ...

and Medenet Habu, adjacent to the

Valley of the Queens The Valley of the Queens ( ar, وادي الملكات ) is a site in Egypt, where the wives of pharaohs were buried in ancient times. It was known then as Ta-Set-Neferu, meaning "the place of beauty". It was most famous for being the burial site ...

. In 1973, Turner returned to England, lecturing at

Salisbury College of Art Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

for three years, before being re-employed in Egypt by the University of Chicago, for a further four years. During this time he made full scale tracings of all columns in

hypostyle In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns. Etymology The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or und ...

hall of

Luxor Temple The Luxor Temple ( ar, معبد الأقصر) is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the Nile River in the city today known as Luxor (ancient Thebes) and was constructed approximately 1400 BCE. In the Egyptian lang ...

. In 1980 he moved to the USA; built a split-level chalet style house in

Big Bear Big Bear, also known as ( cr, ᒥᐢᑕᐦᐃᒪᐢᑿ; – 17 January 1888Mistahimaskwa
...

, California, and ran his own gallery, named Minnelusa Gallery, on the shores of

Big Bear Lake Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is a snow and rain fed lake, having no other means of tributaries or mechanical replenishment. At a surface elevation of , it ...

. He also worked as a graphic designer with Treasure Chest Advertising, based in Los Angeles. Four years later, Turner returned to the United Kingdom, and briefly lived in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, before moving south, to become a teacher at

Vandyke Upper School Vandyke Upper School and Community College is an academy school and sixth form in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England. As of 2022, there are approximately 1500 students in both the sixth form at Vandyke, and compulsory education. History ...

Leighton Buzzard Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/ Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is n ...

, for five years. He returned to Scotland in 1989, and ran an "art holiday" home business from Park House in

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; sco, Kirkcoubrie; gd, Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The town lies southwest of ...

, as well as lecturing part-time in various colleges and schools. In 1993, Turner met Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

, at the opening of

Tolbooth Art Centre A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scottish burgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of three essent ...

in Kirkcudbright. Prince Philip commented on Turneramon's work saying it looked "refreshingly different".

Style and influences

Richard Turner's work is mainly figurative painting, including some nudity, within

Arcadian Arcadian may refer to: * Arcadian, someone or something from, or related to: ** Arcadia (region), the ancient Greek region ** Arcadia (regional unit), the region in modern Greece ** Accademia degli Arcadi, the Italian literary academy founded in ...

landscape settings similar to the compositions in

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

and

mannerist art Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

. Turneramon's first stay in Egypt had a significant effect on his painting style and content. His change from hard edge abstraction to synthetic renaissance is evident in his 5×7 ft. painting, ''The Resurrection of Tutankhamen'', leading to his work being labelled post modernist.

Publications and notable works

* 1972 – Commissioned Mural for The Mummy Room in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

, together with fellow epigraphic artist, Reg Coleman. * 1978 – The Resurrection of Tutankhamen: Influenced by English scholar and mystic Om Seti.

Publications

* Ka Ka Ranish and the Twins of Time * The Twins of Time and the Golden Grotto * The Twins of Time and the Bridge of Time * The Twins of Time and the Seven Seas of Time * The Sacred Eyes of Time (#1 Trilogy of Nethertime) * The Obelisk of Time (#2 Trilogy of Nethertime) * The Twins of Time (#3 Trilogy of Nethertime) * Arcadian Sunset (a collection of Turneramon's paintings and poetry)

Exhibitions

Group shows

* 1962 "Artists of Promise", Midland Group Gallery,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, UK * 1963 "Artists working in London",

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cul ...

, London, UK * 1964 "R.C.A. Artists University College", London, UK * 1965 "Young Contemporaries", London, UK * 1965 Arts Council Travelling Exhibition * 1966 "Young Contemporaries", London, UK * 1966 Arts Council Travelling Exhibition * 1967 "Summer Exhibition",

Piccadilly Gallery The Piccadilly Gallery was an art gallery that operated from a number of addresses in London between 1953 and 2007. It was originally founded as the Pilkington Gallery in 1953 by Eve Pilkington and her husband Godfrey Pilkington, with a focus on ...

, London, UK * 1967 "Staff of Guilford School of Art",

Battersea College of Technology Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

* 1968 "Four Painters", Reid Gallery,

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

, UK * 1968 Bradford Biennale * 1968 Ashbarn Gallery,

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...

* 1970 L’atelier Du Caire, Cairo * 1975 "Fresh Fields and Pastures New", Young Gallery,

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

* 1976 Saint Edmond's Art Centre, Salisbury * 1977 Annely Juda Fine Art * 1980 Files Gallery, Big Bear,CA. USA * 1981 Bear Valley Artists' Gallery, Big Bear, CA. USA * 1981 Calico Art's Fair, Calico Ghost Town, CA. USA * 1982 Edward Dean Museum, Cherry Valley, CA. USA * 1982 Patrick's Gallery, San Francisco, CA. USA * 1982 Files Gallery, Big Bear, CA. U.S.A * 1982 Shambles Gallery, Lake Havasu, AR. USA * 1982 Battenberg Gallery, Big Bear,CA. USA * 1983 Lake Arrowhead Country Club, CA. USA * 1983 San Bernardino Country Museum, CA. USA * 1984 Minnilusa Gallery, CA. USA * 1986 Bedford College Touring Exhibition to Greece and Mediterranean * 1995 High Street Gallery, Kirkcudbright, Scotland * 2002 Beaumont Hall Studios, Buckinghamshire, UK * 2002 Van Wedenburgh, Beverly Hills, USA (Exhibition still in place) * 2004 "Skin Two" Barbican Centre London, UK * 2006 War Rooms, Whitehall, London, UK

Solo shows

* 1967 Totem One Gallery, Manchester, UK * 1970 L'Atelier Du Caire, Cairo, Egypt * 1971 Safar Khan Gallery, Zamelek, Cairo, Egypt * 1972 Gallery Tabac, Paris, France * 1972 Safar Khan Gallery, Zamelek, Cairo, Egypt * 1973 Safar Khan Gallery, Zamelek, Cairo, Egypt * 1974 Derby Art Gallery, Derbyshire, UK * 1974 Saint Edmond's Art Centre, Salisbury, UK * 1975 International Art Centre, London, UK * 1975 Pentagon Gallery,

Stoke on Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement in Staffordshire and is surrou ...

, Staffordshire, UK * 1976 Banbury College of Art, Banbury, UK * 1976 International Art Centre, London, UK * 1976 Saint Edmond's Art Centre, Salisbury, UK * 1977 Safar Khan Gallery, Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt * 1977 "Oriental Ladies in Classical Landscapes", St. Edmunds Art Centre, Salisbury, UK * 1978 Etap Hotel, Luxor, Egypt * 1978 Gallery El Nil, Cairo, Egypt * 1979 Gallery El Nil, Cairo, Egypt * 1980 359 Gallery, Nottingham, UK * 1980 Donington Manor, Leicestershire, UK * 1981 Patricks Gallery, San Francisco, CA. USA * 1981 Lake Arrowhead Country Club, San Bernardino, California, USA * 1982 Minnilusa Gallery, CA. USA * 1983 San Bernardino Country Museum, CA. USA * 1983 The Ebell of Los Angeles, USA * 1983 The Nelson Rockefeller Collection,

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...

, CA. USA * 1984 The Ebell of Los Angeles, USA * 1984 San Bernardino County Museum,

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cens ...

, California, USAJacobs, Tom. "Paintings tell tales of magic", ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'', San Bernardino, 15 April 1984. * 1993 Tolbooth Art Centre, Kirkcudbright, Scotland (opened by H.R.H. The Queen)

References

External links

Turneramon website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Richard 1940 births 2013 deaths Place of death missing People from Derby People educated at Bemrose School Alumni of the Royal College of Art University of Chicago staff Academics of the University for the Creative Arts 20th-century English painters English male painters 21st-century English painters English male poets 20th-century English poets Associates of the Royal College of Art 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English male artists 21st-century English male artists