William Congdon; Abstract, Impressionist Artist

William G. Congdon, 86, abstract artist well known in the 1950s and 1960s. Born in Providence, R.I., Congdon earned a bachelor’s degree in English at Yale University and studied sculpting in Philadelphia and Boston. During World War II, he volunteered for ambulance duty with the American Field Service and worked with the British army in Italy, Germany and North Africa. He was one of the first Americans to enter the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and made drawings that were later reproduced in a book he wrote about the experience. Congdon also wrote a book, “In My Disc of Gold,” about his conversion to Catholicism, which greatly influenced his art. After his service in Europe, Congdon took up painting, using poured paint, a spatula, gold dust and even the point of a nail to create a combination of abstract and impressionistic scenes of buildings. He traveled widely but lived in Milan, Italy, most of his life. He had exhibits around the world, including two one-man shows in California in 1954, at UCLA and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, which has a permanent collection of his work. On April 15 in Milan of a heart attack.