Born in Port Washington, New York, Turner attended Swarthmore College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1936.

Turner established the studio pottery program at Black Mountain College in North Carolina between 1949 and 1951.

In 1958, he joined the Alfred University faculty, where he remained until his retirement as Professor Emeritus of Ceramic Art in 1979.

Like many studio potters, Turner began his career producing functional ceramics.

See also Robert Turner: Shaping Silence; A Life in Clay, by Marsha Miro and Tony Hepburn (Kodansha International, 2003)