The following biography comes from the web site:
http://www.paletteandchisel.org/p&c/p&c_history.htm

Turtle was born in Birmingham, England. As a young man, Turtle was intensely
interested in musical composition, and he financed his studies in music by
selling his paintings. He soon realized that musical composition did not
assure recognition or financial reward, so he entered the world of commerce.

In 1922, he joined his relatives in the United States, where he worked as an
accountant. Turtle found that he could not ignore his growing artistic urge,
and he decided to study fine art, attending facilities that offered weekend
and night courses at the Art Institute of Chicago and The Chicago Fine Arts
Academy. Later, he joined The Palette & Chisel where he received constant
support and recognition.

In 1929 his initial exhibit received excellent critical reviews and almost all of his paintings sold promptly. Critics drew attention to the quality of music in his use of color. Acquisitions have been made by state institutions of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa and California.