Divine Intervention, 2024

Divine Intervention was commissioned in 2024 after the assassination attempt on President Donald J. Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Working from the widely circulated photographs of that day, Turner treated the painting as a historical record, repositioning figures within the composition to show what he believes was a moment of divine preservation.

Within the painting is Turner’s signature symbol of Divine Intervention, along with the ghosted presence of Corey Comperatore, who lost his life shielding his family during the attack. Both are there as an acknowledgment of sacrifice and of the unseen forces surrounding that day.

Turner and his wife delivered the finished painting in person to President Trump’s campaign headquarters in Florida after it could not be transported by aircraft because of its size. When members of the Secret Service asked about the ghosted image in the work, Turner answered, “the spirit of Corey Comperatore.” The reply came back: “I’ve got goosebumps.”

The letter that formally presented the painting to President Trump states its purpose plainly: to document a day when history, faith, and survival met. Turner’s conviction is that history was redirected in that moment, and that it was no accident.