Helen Monro Turner – A Prolific Creative Force in Glass

In this talk, we will introduce Helen Monro Turner (1901-1977), the distinguished Scottish glass engraver, who has been somewhat forgotten amongst the names of influential 20th-century British glass artists and designers. This can be attributed to a lack of publications or monographs on her influence, where her male contemporaries such as Geoffrey Baxter (1922-1995) and Keith Murray (1892-1981) were predominant. Even within the specialized field of glass engraving, she has been overshadowed somewhat by the celebrity and renown of John Hutton (1906-1978). It also reflects the patriarchal-dominated fraternity of the sector and its wider advocates in the 20th Century. Thus, this paper hopes to rectify this absence by exploring a little-documented part of her oeuvre, specifically focusing on her public work and architectural glass commissions. Finally, this paper will draw upon how Monro Turner can be regarded as an early role model for women working in glass, paving the way for future generations in the field.

Firstly, we will delve into the life and achievements of Monro Turner, her background and education and the illustrious career she cultivated. Her work as an educationalist at Edinburgh College of Art, where she set up the first engraved glass studio in 1940. Following this, we will discuss a selected range of her public work and architectural glass commissions. We will explore the vital role of Museum collections in preserving her enduring legacy for future generations. Finally, we will conclude this talk by drawing upon the changing contemporary landscape of the glass art field and confront the difficulties that this discipline is facing, considering the losses faced within the field in terms of the traditional craft skills such as copper wheel engraving and stained glass which are becoming increasingly at risk and endangered in the UK.

Note: Helen Monro-Turner was married to W.E.S Turner, the fourth president of the SGT. An early pioneer of scientific glass technology, he founded the Department of Glass Manufacture at University College Sheffield in 1915 and the Turner Museum of Glass in 1943.