Robert Chapman Turner papers, circa 1917-2005

Biographical materials are scattered and include addresses, awards and certificates, gallery labels, gifts and donation records, and scattered sketches. Of note are records relating to Turner's application and service as a conscientious objector and his role in the CPS camps during World War II. A book entitled 50 Years of Building by Turner details the history of Turner's father's construction company.

Robert Turner's general correspondence is with artists, friends, family, colleagues, institutions, and museums. Early letters are from the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Bertha Shaefer Gallery among others. Notable correspondents include Margaret Carney, Kenneth Ferguson, Ben Howard, Alice Parrott, Charles Redfern, Toshiko Takaezu, Frans Wildenhain, and Barry Zawachi. Additional letters regarding and with specific people, institutions, exhibitions, and projects can also be found in Series 5: Professional Files.

Writings and notes are largely on art theory and the technical aspects of creating pottery, such as glazing and kiln notes detailing recipes for glazes. A notebook from the 1950s includes travel expenses and notes about Midwest and Great Lakes museums from Turner's early job search trip.

Turner's teaching files contain material directly related to teaching classes and workshops. Grading information, lecture notes, a cassette tape likely containing a lecture from the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, and syllabi may be found.

Files for institutions where Turner taught and gave workshops may also be found in Series 5 and are more general and are typically administrative.

Professional files form the bulk of the collection and include records relating to the administration of Turner's teaching career, exhibitions, invitations to lecture, gallery affiliations, organizational affiliations, and projects. Files retain Turner's original order and folder titles. Files may include correspondence from, to, and about the named person or organization. Of note is Turner's research and study of Africa and traditional African pottery making; book project files which likely contains material from Robert Turner: Shaping Silence; A Life in Clay, by Marsha Miro and Tony Hepburn; records from Turner's long affiliation with the American Craft Council, International Academy of Ceramics, National Council on Education of the Ceramic Arts, and the York State Craftsmen (now the New York State Craftsmen); and Turner's art sales and exhibitions at the Dorothy Weiss Gallery, Exhibit A Gallery, The Fabric Workshop, Hand and the Spirit, Okun Gallery, Revolution Gallery, and Santa Fe Clay.

Files may contain correspondence, exhibition announcements and catalogs, writings and notes, personal business records such as sales records, and photographs. The Lectures and Talks files include one sound cassette.

Subject files are very general and are likely to contain clippings, brochures, exhibition catalogs, and photocopies relating to people and subjects of interest to Turner. Original folder titles have been maintained.

The bulk of the printed materials relate to art and exhibitions. Materials from Black Mountain College include course offerings and informational brochures dating from Turner's time at the college; newer Black Mountain College items concern an oral history project. Also found are the items that hung along the walls and used to decorate the Alfred University Pottery Shop.

Photographs depict Robert Turner, the Turner family, Sue Turner and their children, friends, and colleagues. Photos of Turner include portraits and snapshots and show Turner at work in pottery shops, demonstrating, and teaching classes. Photos of workshops show the building of and completed interiors of the Black Mountain College pottery workshop and Alfred University shop. Many of the photos of Turner's artwork were taken by John Wood.