to the Salon of
Charles H. F. Turner (1848–1908)

Back to E-Museum Entrance

Flemish Girl Portrait of a Lady in a Feathered Hat By Charles H. F. Turner, Boston, 1898 Pyrography on wood panel, 18 in. by 24 in., in frame 21 in. by 27 in. After a 19th C. oil painting Digital image by Sharon H. Garvey, © 2006

Flemish Girl Portrait of a Lady in a Feathered Hat Detail of the signature, recto By Charles H. F. Turner, Boston, 1898 Poker work on wood panel, 18 in. by 24 in., in frame 21 in. by 27 in. Digital image by Sharon H. Garvey, © 2006

Flemish Girl Portrait of a Lady in a Feathered Hat
Detail of the label, verso, from the Boston Art Club exhibit
By Charles H. F. Turner, Boston, 1898

Poker work on wood panel,
18 in. by 24 in., in frame 21 in. by 27 in.

Digital image by Sharon H. Garvey, © 2006

Portrait of a Lady Holding a Mask By Charles H. F. Turner, Boston, 1898 Poker work on wood panel, 18 in. by 24 in., in frame 21 in. by 27 in. After a 19th C. oil painting Digital image by Sharon H. Garvey, © 2006

Portrait of a Lady Holding a Mask, close-up view By Charles H. F. Turner, Boston, 1898 Poker work on wood panel, 18 in. by 24 in., in frame 21 in. by 27 in. After a 19th C. oil painting Digital image by Sharon H. Garvey, © 2006

Flemish Girl Portrait of a Lady in a Feathered Hat, detail By Charles H. F. Turner, Boston, 1898 Poker work on wood panel, 18 in. by 24 in., in frame 21 in. by 27 in. After a 19th C. oil painting Digital image by Sharon H. Garvey, © 2006

Self Portrait Charles Henry Francis Turner (7 August 1848 to 24 November 1908) Painted self portrait Digital image thanks to Wikipedia

Ethnographic art dealer and antique pyrography collector Douglas Schneible in Shelburne, Vermont, greatly prizes the above pyroengravings by Boston artist
Charles Henry Francis Turner (1848–1908), as well as a beautiful old trunk decorated by him and dedicated to his granddaughter.

Douglas Schneible has an extensive website The Arts & Crafts Gallery featuring his fine collection of antique pyrographic works and history along with his ethnographic art and artifacts.

In his website history entitled "PYROGRAPHY ART: Forgotten Gems of the Arts & Crafts Movement," Douglas Schneible has a section on Turner, whom he describes as

"...a Boston etcher and fine arts painter at the turn of the century, [who] created some of the finest, most detailed pyrographic artworks. Because of his sojourn to France in the late 1880's, he specialized in European and French influenced master paintings and portraits. This stint undoubtedly influenced his love of painting portraits and no doubt exposed him to early French pyrography...an artform which he later practiced and brought to America....He signs his pyrographic artworks 'CHT' and he was a frequent exhibitor at the Boston Art Club including the Boston Art Exhibition in 1898 where his portrait of a classic French Lady was exhibited."

UPDATE—May 2012: On the 23rd of May in Hampton, New Hampshire, U.S.A., where Turner spent his youth, the Tuck Museum is inaugurating the 'Charles Henry Turner' room, where, according to their director, Betty H. Moore, they ".. will be displaying [their] Turner collection of paintings, family furniture, and other items."

The Tuck Museum has also prepared a booklet of Turner's paintings, which is for sale at their Museum Store.

On loan there at the Tuck Museum for a month is Turner's Portrait of a Lady Holding a Mask (displayed above) owned by Douglas Schneible, to mark the opening of this exhibit for this important artist and also to highlight his work in pyrography, which was little known before. Although the Tuck Museum was aware of a dozen works by Turner in pyrography that were listed in an auction that took place in 1910 (two years after his death), Director Moore had never yet come across one of those works. Because there were 73 oil paintings exhibited in 1910, and an additional 20 watercolors, it seems Turner was primarily a painter and less frequently a pyrographer. However, it is also evident from the exquisite quality of his pyrographic works that they were no less important to him than were the others.

---

If you have any questions or any information regarding these Charles H. F. Turner works or others by this artist, please e-mail the owner Douglas Schneible and the E-Museum Curator.

You are leaving the
Charles H. F. Turner Salon

You can return to the