Robert Chapman Turner papers
name: label: Creator
content: Turner, Robert Chapman, 1913-2005
label: Names
content: Black Mountain College (Black Mountain, N.C.)
label: Names
content: Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
label: Names
content: York State Craftsmen
topic: label: Occupation
content: Ceramicists -- New York (State) -- Alfred Station
label: Topic
content: American studio craft movement
label: Topic
content: Ceramics -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: World War, 1939-1945 -- Conscientious objectors
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Robert Chapman Turner donated some of his papers in 1982.  Additional materials were donated in 2005-2006 by Rosalind Turner Zuses, Turner's daughter.
creator: label: Creator
content: Turner, Robert Chapman, 1913-2005
setName: label: See more items in
content: Robert Chapman Turner papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of ceramicist Robert Chapman Turner measure 13.3 linear feet and date from circa 1917 to 2005. The papers document Turner's career as an educator and studio potter through biographical material, correspondence, writings, teaching files, professional files including lectures, subject files, printed material, and photographs.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Robert Chapman Turner (1913-2006) was a ceramicist who was known for functional and abstract pottery. He was active in Alfred Station, New York where he was a longtime faculty member at Alfred University.

Robert Turner was born in Port Washington, New York in 1913. He attended Swarthmore College and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where he studied economics and painting. With his wife Sue Turner, Robert lived in Europe to study Old Master paintings but returned to the United States after the start of World War II. A Quaker, Turner was a conscientious objector and served at multiple Civilian Public Service (CPS) camps in the United States during the war. 

After leaving the CPS camps, Robert Turner enrolled at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University to study ceramics and graduated in 1949. Turner was a faculty member at Black Mountain College (1949-1951) and Alfred University (1958-1979). He conducted numerous ceramics workshops throughout his career at many institutions including Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and Penland School of Crafts. Additionally, he was an active member of the (New) York State Craftsman.

Turner died in 2005 in Sandy Spring, Maryland.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 13.3 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1917-2005
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.turnrobe
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 8 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1930-2002 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 1, 14)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1938-2005 (1.8 linear feet; Boxes 1-3)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1950s-2000s (0.6 linear feet; Box 3)

Series 4: Teaching Files, 1957-2005 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 3-4)

Series 5: Professional Files, 1952-2005 (5.5 linear feet; Boxes 4-9)

Series 6: Subject Files, 1950s-2000 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 9-10)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1939-2000s (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 10-12, 14)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1917-2000s (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 12-14)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2019.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of ceramicist Robert Chapman Turner measure 13.3 linear feet and date from circa 1917 to 2005. The papers document Turner's career as an educator and studio potter through biographical material, correspondence, writings, teaching files, professional files including lectures, subject files, printed material, and photographs.

The bulk of Turner's papers relate to his role as an educator and a lecturer at various institutions including Alfred University, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Black Mountain College, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and Penland School of Crafts. Records, including two sound cassettes, regarding his time at these institutions may be found among his teaching and professional files as well as among photographs. Turner's professional files document his long affiliations with professional organizations such as the York State Craftsmen, National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, and the International Academy of Ceramics. Correspondence is with artists, family, and friends. Notable correspondents include Margaret Carney, Kenneth Ferguson, Alice Parrott, Toshiko Takaezu, and Frans Wildenhain among many others and may be found in both the correspondence series and professional files. Photographs of note are by John Wood and depict the building of the pottery studio at Black Mountain College.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview of Robert Turner conducted 2001 June 11, by Margaret Carney, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America,