Stephen Turner holds a Book of Hours offered in a January 2022 auction that realized $14,000 plus the buyer’s premium. Image courtesy of Turner Auctions + Appraisals.
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Turner, founder of Turner Auctions + Appraisals, hails from Canada and spent the early years of his career in the auction business working as an appraiser and specialist with auction houses in Vancouver and Victoria. After relocating to San Francisco in 1991, he worked for Butterfield & Butterfield, one of the country’s oldest auction houses, before and after it was acquired by eBay and then Bonhams. In 2004, Turner opened an auction and appraisal consulting firm, and, seven years ago, the company began hosting online-only auctions. His namesake firm specializes in fine arts, decorative arts, Asian and Southwest arts, toys, photography and prints, jewelry, militaria and books and manuscripts. Here is our recent conversation with Stephen Turner.