Robert Natkin (b. 1930), whose bold paintings expertly melded the abstract style of artists like Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky with vibrant post-impressionist colors reminiscent of Henri Matisse, passed away in Connecticut on April 20.

In the late 1960s and 1970s, Chicago-born Natkin rose to prominence for his bright, large-scale canvases.

In a 1979 New York Times profile, Natkin recalled his life in the studio: “It’s full of the voices of my paintings,” he said, “of all the victories and defeats I’ve known there.”