The Quirky World of Lynette Turner

Lynette Turner died last year in St Keverne leaving a collection of 150 images – mostly etchings – done in her early life. They are colourful, whimsical but always showing mastery of the etching technique. She did most of her work in London between 1968 and 1995, when she effectively retired and moved down to Cornwall. 

In London, she exhibited in places like Heals and Liberty, and had a couple of prints accepted into Royal Academy summer shows. She had a loyal group of clients - family, university and art school friends, and neighbours from the Oval. However, she lived in a high-maintenance house and couldn't earn enough to maintain it. The strain of doing highly detailed and physically demanding etching became too much for her so she gave it all up, moving to Cornwall, where she lived in Penryn, Falmouth and, finally St Keverne. 

She was active in the Poly’s History Group in the late 1990s and showed in the Poly’s summer exhibitions. But by moving to Cornwall, she lost touch with her London clients and was unable to develop new markets down here. She became increasingly reclusive, but made sure that she kept framed copies of her work, which she hung around her house, living with an almost complete set of prints around her. 

Just before she died, her brother Louis and his wife promised that they would do all they could to publicise her legacy. This exhibition is the result, and will show what a remarkable talent she was.

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The Quirky World of Lynette Turner: Tuesday 15th June to Saturday 27th June.

This extensive exhibition is free to visit, and will take place across The Poly's Spring Gallery and Main Gallery, 10am–5pm, Tuesday to Saturday. 

A catalogue of works, outline of the purchasing process and a price list and  are now available to download. 

Sales will open at 10am on Tuesday 13th June on a first-come-first-served basis; interested parties should email guild@thepoly.org with details of the picture/s they would like to purchase. The catalogue will be available to buy at the exhibition. 

Social distancing measures are still in place – please wear a face covering and sanitise your hands on arrival. You will be asked to sign in to NHS Track and Trace on entering the Main Gallery. 

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