Two of this country's most influential wood turners are father and son Mel and Mark Lindquist. They lived and worked in Henniker, New Hampshire in the 1970s and 1980s.

Mel Lindquist (1911- 2000) was a pioneering member of the studio wood turning movement and his work has been exhibited in major museums since the 1970s. He earned a degree in engineering from Oakland Polytechnic College (1935) and was a master machinist. He was the first turner to use partially decayed - or spalted - wood which is now prized for its unusual coloration and grain patterns. His forms were often based on ancient Greek and Roman ceramic vessels and were revolutionary in that they incorporated natural irregularities including cracks, voids and areas of bark.

Mark Lindquist (born 1949) served as a studio apprentice to his father and graduated from New England College in Henniker (1971) and earned a Masters of Fine Arts from Florida State University (1990). In 1980 Mark was a fellow at MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, NH and in 1984 he received an Individual Artist Grant from the New Hampshire Council on the Arts and exhibited at the Currier Museum of Art. Mark now lives and works in Florida.

The Lindquists' work is in many major museum collections and is regularly included in important exhibitions. Their commitment to excellence in technique and innovation has inspired two generations of wood turners whose work is on view in the special exhibition Turning Wood Into Art.