Gale Turnbull joined Vernon Kilns in 1935 as art director, bringing with him a background that bridged fine art and commercial ceramics. Born Daniel Gale Turnbull Jr. in New York in 1886, he studied at Pratt Institute and worked as a painter and engraver before spending a number of years painting in France. After returning to the United States, Turnbull worked at Leigh Potters and Sebring Pottery in Ohio before coming to California. At Vernon Kilns, he helped shape the company’s modern identity, guiding a broad expansion of shapes, designs, and decorated ware that gave Vernon a more painterly, studio-art sensibility.

Turnbull is credited with the design of the Ultra shape, but he also produced dozens of hand-painted lines on Vernon’s rounded Montecito shape. His work is generally well marked with his signature and the pattern name, making it especially recognizable to collectors. There are so many pattern variants that many Turnbull designs are identified by a “T” followed by a number.

Vernon Kilns Gale Turnbull Native American Series

Turnbull’s Native American series launched around 1937. An advertisement in House Beautiful described it as “an essentially native product” from California, noting that Turnbull was inspired by “the carefree existence of California in old Mission days.” The series included several different patterns, among them Going to Town, Cabanas Chico, Mountain Mission, Sentinels, Arizona, Pueblo, and Little Mission. Together, these designs reflect Turnbull’s characteristic mix of decorative storytelling, regional imagery, and loose hand-painted style.