Posted in Long read , Written by Sarah Rothwell, Senior Curator, Modern and Contemporary Design

Helen Monro Turner (1901 – 1977) was a distinguished Scottish glass engraver, designer, educator, and illustrator. An important figure in the development of glass art, Monro Turner was an early role model for women working in glass, and one who paved the way for future generations in the field.

Sarah Rothwell, Senior Curator of Modern & Contemporary Design, introduces this remarkable Scottish pioneer whose work is held within our collections.

Close up black and white portrait of a woman with wavy grey hair and thick 50s style glasses against a black background. In front of her to the right is a large glass object. Behind it, her clasped hands can be seen, — Portrait of Helen Monro Turner, by Paul Shillabeer, Edinburgh, c.1950s. Museum reference K.2006.4.3.202.

Helen Monro Turner's is best remembered for her important educational work at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), where she established a glass-engraving studio in 1941 and the Department of Glass Design in 1943. She was one of the most significant figures in British twentieth-century glass education and nurtured some of the leading names in glass artistry and design. This included the father of the British Studio Movement Sam Herman, and acclaimed Scottish glass artist Alison Kinnaird.

Born in Calcutta where her father was a newspaper editor, Monro Turner was raised in Edinburgh. She attended George Watson’s Ladies College before studying Moral Philosophy and Art at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1922. She went on to earn a Diploma in Design and Crafts from Edinburgh College of Art in 1927, specialising in woodcut print design and illustration. Soon after, Monro Turner secured a role designing book covers, illustrations and endpapers for publishers Thomas Nelson & Sons, one of the most successful publishing companies in the UK at the start of the 20th century.

Discovering glass

Despite not being trained in glass design, Monro Turner became captivated by the medium after spending time sketching workers at the Edinburgh and Leith Glassworks for a promotional advertising campaign and illustrated booklet that was created in the late 1920s. Inspired by the experience, she submitted glass designs to the company for consideration.

A black and white graphic illustration with many diagonal geographic shapes and stylised images of people working with glass. The words 'EDINBURGH CRYSTYAL; are hand drawn into the design. — Artists’ Proof for the advertising campaign commissioned by the Edinburgh and Leith Flint Glass Works, c.1929. Museum reference K.2006.4.3.226.

A black and white booklet cover with a stylised illustration of a man working in a glass factory. At the top are the words 'EDINBURGH CRYSTAL''. At the bottom are the words "CRAFTSMAN IN GLASSMAKING'. — Booklet cover, 'Edinburgh Crystal Craftmanship in Glassmaking' featuring Turner’s illustration commissioned by the Edinburgh and Leith Flint Glass Works, c.1929. Museum reference K.2006.4.3.221.

However, her submissions were not always met with enthusiasm. The design department of the Edinburgh and Leith Glassworks were recorded as stating that her designs were not viable.

“…cannot be done [as] it has never been done before . . . this is too new, too unfamiliar. It will not sell.”
Extract from a memo from the Director of Webb’s Crystal Glass Co. LTD, dated Oct. 24th, 1929

Despite being understandably frustrated with their comments, she persisted. Eventually, the company recognised her “considerable promise” and her designs were exhibited at the '1935 British Art in Industry Exhibition' at the Royal Academy in London.

5 cut glass objects against a black background,. There is a wine glass, a graphically etched bowl, a beer glass, another wine glass and a goblet. — Glass by the Edinburgh and Leith Flint Glass Works, designed by Helen Monro; shown at Exhibition of Industrial Art, Royal Academy, London.
Credit: ECA Photography Collection, Centre for Research Collections. © Edinburgh College of Art

4 cut glass objects against a black background. There is a wide fluted bowl, a twisted design bowl, a cut etched goblet and an etched wine glass. — Glass by the Edinburgh and Leith Flint Glass Works, designed by Helen Monro; shown at Exhibition of Industrial Art, Royal Academy, London.
Credit: ECA Photography Collection, Centre for Research Collections. © Edinburgh College of Art

Two of her designs, believed to have been exhibited at Burlington House, were donated to our collections. One with an optic twist is quite traditional, so was probably met with approval from the Edinburgh and Leith Glassworks design room.

The other featured a bold graphic zigzag, that shows the influence of the 'Style Moderne' during this period.

A wide shallow glass bowl against a black background. The bowl has a wide flat rim and a small bowl. The rim has a twisted undulating ripple pattern. — Bowl, exhibited at the British Art in Industry Exhibition, Burlington House, 1935. Designed by Helen Monro, for Edinburgh Crystal, E&L Company ( Museum reference V.2022.212.

A tall wide glass bowl against a black background. The bowl is tall with a wide brim which tapers into a narrower base. The sides have a bold geometric triangular pattern around the bottom of the outside. — Fruit dish, exhibited at the British Art in Industry Exhibition, Burlington House, 1935. Designed by Helen Monro, for Edinburgh Crystal, E&L Company. Museum reference V.2022.211.

Quite remarkably for a time when there were few women employed in the glass industry, Monro Turner was not content being a passive designer relying on another to realise her work. Instead, she wanted to engage directly with glass.

“the best teacher of glass design is glass itself, and the best training is that which brings the student into closest actual contact with the medium, and into an inquisitive awareness of its latent possibilities.”
Helen Monro Turner

On that basis, in 1938, she was successfully awarded an Andrew Grant Fellowship to study glass engraving, cutting, and etching at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Stuttgart. Unfortunately, her studies here were cut short by the declaration of war. But she was able to complete her studies at the Department of Glass Technology at Sheffield University.

A black and white photograph of a woman to the right, with short wavy brown hair, wearing a lose back jacket at a studio desk. She is operating am old-fashioned lathe. There is a bright double window to left. — Helen Monro working at her lathe, c. the late 1930s.
Credit: Credit: ECA Photography Collection, Centre for Research Collections. © Edinburgh College of Art

Setting up her studio

The experience gained during this period in both Europe and the UK was pivotal. It shaped her expertise in the field, both through hand on experience and the contacts in the glass industry she made. On her return to Edinburgh in 1940 she established her first glass studio on Queen Street, with a copper wheel engraving lathe once used at the Holyrood Glass Works. She soon gained a reputation for her beautiful engraved glass artwork, receiving commissions from both private and commercial ventures, including the Edinburgh and Leith Glassworks who retained her as a “Consultant Designer”.

Another notable employment was with Hadeland Glass in Norway. She worked there between 1947 and 1951 to instruct trainee engravers, develop designs for manufacture, and assist in the reconstruction of the Norwegian glass industry, which had been virtually destroyed during the war.

Glassmaking for all

Monro Turner’s biggest passion was education. Brian Blench, former Keeper of Decorative Art at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, who has written several articles on her, once said of her that,

“Artists have frequently been forced into the role of teacher in order to make a living in order to pursue their artistic activities. Few, however, have been so driven with a desire to interest, encourage and develop a love of their chosen medium as Helen Monro Turner.”

She was first invited to establish a department of glass engraving at Edinburgh College of Art. However, her vision was for a glass department that should cover all aspects of glass design, making, and decoration. She believed that all students, regardless of gender, should have the opportunity to work directly with glass in all capacities.

The department started off with just four female students and two glass lathes in January 1941. Lampworking, sandblasting, and diamond-cutting lathes were soon added to the studio. Glass blowing was taught on visits to Stourbridge until 1958, when a small furnace was installed at ECA for experimental glass making. A larger furnace was added in 1965.

A black and white photograph of 3 women in 1940s flowery dresses and 40s hair styles in a studio. There is one woman seated and operating an old lathe. The other tow women are standing behind her watching as she is working. — Miss Monro with two of her first students Marion Marshall and Mary Duncan at Edinburgh College of Art, around October 1941.
Credit: ECA Photography Collection, Centre for Research Collections. Credit: © Edinburgh College of Art

Monro Turner was the first woman to head a glass department in the UK, and through her tenacity and foresight, she established one of the best-equipped and influential educational departments in the field. From this impressive achievement came a stream of glass artists who transformed the industry in post-war Scotland and had a significant impact on the British studio glass movement.

Her influence didn’t stop there. In 1956, she established the Juniper Green Workshop on the outskirts of Edinburgh. This created opportunities for several of her ex-students to continue to develop their oeuvre at a time when post-graduate glass training wasn’t available. Impressively, Monro Turner achieved all this while facilitating exhibition opportunities both in the UK and America, while also producing major commissions from royalty, public institutions, and private individuals.

A cblack and white close up of two hands holding a drinking glass, The glass is held underneath a lathe machine. — Helen Monro working on a design at the lathe, c.1950s. Museum reference K.2006.4.3.205.

Pioneering and influential

Even though there may be no publications on Helen Monro Turner’s influence, as there are for many of her male peers. I think she was a remarkable woman who deserves celebration and recognition for all she achieved.

Her dedication to glass, even extended to her choosing to wear a fibre glass dress on her wedding day. She married Professor William E. S. Turner, a British chemist, pioneer of scientific glass technology, founder of the Turner Museum of Glass at Sheffield University, on the 1st of July 1943 at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. I can’t even imagine how itchy that must have been!

Finally, any discussion on her legacy would be incomplete without recognising how she created opportunities for anyone who excelled in, or had a passion for, glass – regardless of gender. So, despite the widespread cuts to craft courses in modern higher education, it is a fitting tribute to Helen Monro Turner, that glass teaching continues here in Edinburgh to this day.