British sculptor and painter.
Turnbull was born in Dundee, Scotland. After serving as an RAF pilot in the Second World War he studied at the Slade School, 1946 - 48, then in 1948 - 50 lived in Paris, where he met such illustrious figures as Brancusi and Giacometti. In 1950 he had his first exhibition at the Hannover Gallery, London. Since then he has had numerous one-man exhibitions - including a retrospective at the Tate Gallery in 1973.
As a sculptor Turnbull moved from Surrealistic and primitivist works to painted steel geometrical constructions. As a painter he was one of the first british artists to work in the manner of the American Colour Field Painters, of which "Black, Blue and Red" of 1955 is a very fine and early example.
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