Kathryn Mapes Turner

// By Jim Mahaffie 
// photography By bradly J. boner

The figure in the big floppy straw hat and paint-spattered apron is a regular sight in Jackson Hole. She’s studying her canvas on an easel, where a horse, moose, fox, or other animal is taking shape. Maybe it’s just an eye so far—she always starts with her subject’s eyes. The painting is destined for her Turner Fine Art Gallery in the Creekside Plaza, or a fine art show elsewhere in the country. 

Born at St. John’s Hospital in Jackson and raised at the Triangle X dude ranch in Grand Teton National Park, Kathryn is a fourth-generation Turner, part of a large, tight-knit family descended from John and Maytie Turner, who bought the ranch in 1926. Turner’s brothers run it today as a concession within the National Park Service; it offers dude ranch stays, rafting and fishing trips, and horseback riding. Turner herself still helps break colts at the ranch every spring.

Turner was one of three kids in her elementary school class at Moran School and then attended Jackson Middle School and High School until her senior year, which she did at Bishop O’Connell High School in Washington, DC. (Her father, John F. Turner, had been appointed director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the family moved temporarily to the nation’s capital.) At the University of Notre Dame, where her parents had met, Turner majored in studio arts. She then studied art in Rome and at the Corcoran School of Art, and she earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Virginia. Then she had to make a decision: become a teacher in Fairfax County, Virginia, or pursue her longtime dream of becoming a working artist in Jackson Hole. 

She returned to the valley in 2000 and today is living her dream. Her work is in the permanent collection at the National Museum of Wildlife Art and has been shown at the Charlie Russell Museum, the Buffalo Bill Cody Center of the West, the Phippen Museum, the Brinton Museum, and the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; she has her own gallery; and she is a past featured artist at the prestigious Southeast Wildlife Exposition.

“Wildlife is my first love, but it never stands still. I hire my nieces and nephews to hold horses for me. Everyone should get to watch horses running. That’s when they’re happiest—when they’re running out to pasture in the afternoons, with the low light and dust, and the Tetons as a backdrop.”

KATHRYN SHARES SOME HIGHLIGHTS from her Jackson Hole Life.

WILDLIFE WATCHING

My gallery is right across from the National Elk Refuge (on Highway 89), and I drive past it every day. It’s such a treasure, not just for elk; you can see wolves and bighorn sheep, and it’s an important winter range for mule deer. This valley is special, with so many different animals to see, admire, and paint. All the wildlife around us is a cool part of who I am. My dad was a wildlife biologist, and my brothers and cousins were all raised with that deep appreciation. 

WINTER DESTINATION

The Triangle X ranch is a unique winter destination—remote, magical, and quiet when compared to the hustle and bustle of town. In my opinion, it has the best cross-country ski terrain in the whole valley. Plus, unprecedented views and great food. Our wine-pairing dinners are particularly popular for locals who make a weekend of it. This year is the ranch’s 100th anniversary as a dude ranch owned and operated by my family.

GALLERIES

It is amazing that we have, in our little town, the caliber of fine art that we do. My first art shows were at Triangle X; I displayed my paintings in the guest dining room before dinner and sold them for $25. In 2005, I started my first gallery, Trio, in a collaboration with two other artists. It became Turner Fine Art five years ago. 

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WILDLIFE ART

When I was 16, Bill Kerr [one of the NMWA’s founders] bought one of my watercolor paintings. He added it to the museum’s permanent collection. It was a vote of confidence for a young artist that set me on my path. Now the NMWA owns five of my pieces. 

WHERE TO TAKE YOUR DOG

I’m blessed because I have the ranch and all its ski trails. Though it’s private land, my dad also has great XC loops on Meadow Road along the Snake River. My Portuguese water dog, Banjo, is a champ XC companion and goes out with me most days. Banjo also loves his days at the gallery because he gets to make new friends when clients visit. He even has his own fan club! 

FIRST JOB

In a ranch family, everyone gets put to work. My first job was at eight. I’d wake up before dawn, get in the saddle, and trot around in the dark of our 1,400-acre lease, wrangling all the scattered horses to bring them in before 7 a.m. breakfast. It was a magical time—all alone with your horse, watching the sun rise with the elk herds and the cottonwoods. We were riding at the same time we learned to walk. Our daycare was putting us on a horse. JH