Born in 1903 in Istanbul, from a Turkish mother and a Djerbian father, Yahia Turki is described as the “father of Tunisian painting”. A pupil at the Carnot high school in Tunis, he also attended the Koranic school where he took an interest, for the first time, in the arrangement of shapes and colors of writing tablets. Later, he undertook an academic training at the Center for Art Education, which in 1930 became the School of Fine Arts in Tunis. From 1923, he exhibited at the Tunisian Salon and obtained a scholarship which allowed him to go to Paris in 1927. There he befriended Albert Marquet and Lucien Mainssieux. In 1928, he participated in the Colonial Exhibition of French Artists and the Salon des Indépendants.
Back in Tunis in 1935, he exhibited a series of works on Parisian themes. In 1936, Tunisian, Belgian and Parisian paintings were presented in "Le Petit Matin", a daily newspaper of the time. From this date, his personal exhibitions became annual. He also participated in the Colonial Society of French Artists and the Salon des Independants in France. He became, after Pierre Boucherle, President of the School of Tunis from 1956 until his death.