Alan Turner (1943-2020) was a surrealist painter known for his contorted and abstract human figures. While his early work consisted of paintings of forests, his depictions of rearranged human features gained popularity and nodded to Surrealist René Magritte. Both humorous and disturbing, Turner’s work analyzed the human figure in an ambiguous way.

Born in New York, Alan Turner attended City College and the University of California, Berkeley, where he received his master’s. He studied under David Hockney while living in California, living in Hockney’s apartment in the early 70s. His work is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum in New York, the Denver Art Museum, and the Museum of Fine Art, Boston, among others.