In passing

Al Held, American abstract painter, 76

Rome

Al Held, an American abstract painter known for his large-scale works, was found dead Wednesday in the swimming pool of his house in the Umbrian countryside of Italy, a friend said. He was 76.

His gardener found the painter’s body, according to the friend, Bill Pepper. The home is in the town of Camerata, about nine miles south of Todi.

Police investigated because Italian law requires an inquiry into all deaths that occur at home, and authorities in Todi later said Held had died of natural causes.

A native of New York City, Held was a prominent abstract expressionist, according to the Robert Miller Gallery in New York, which held several exhibits of his work.

Held once described his work this way: “Historically, the priests and wise men believed that it was the artist’s job to make images of heaven and hell believable, even though nobody had experienced these places.”

“Today,” he went on, “scientists talk about vast worlds and universes that the senses cannot experience. The purpose of the nonobjective artist is to create these images.”

Held is survived by a daughter, Mara Held, and a grandchild. Funeral plans were not announced.

Arthur Zankel, financier, Carnegie Hall donor, 73

New York

Arthur Zankel, the financier who gave $10 million for the Carnegie Hall recital space that bears his name, plunged to his death from his ninth-floor apartment in an apparent suicide, police said Friday. He was 73.

Zankel, Carnegie Hall’s vice chairman, died Thursday at New York-Presbyterian Hospital after apparently jumping from his Fifth Avenue apartment, Detective Noel Waters said. Waters said Zankel jumped around 11 a.m. Thursday and landed in a rear courtyard.

Zankel, a member of the Citigroup Inc. board of directors from 1986 until last year, specialized in real estate investment through his firm, High Rise Capital Management. He served as a co-managing partner of First Manhattan Co. for almost 20 years, until 1997.

Zankel (pronounced zan-KEL) was being treated for severe depression, a friend told the Associated Press.

Zankel’s donation helped fund the $100 million venue at Carnegie Hall that opened in 2003. Zankel Hall fulfilled Andrew Carnegie’s original vision for three performance spaces at the complex.

Olympic gold medalist Eddie Crook Jr., 76

Columbus, Ga.

Eddie Crook Jr., who won an Olympic gold medal as a teammate of Muhammad Ali and served two tours in Vietnam with the Army, died Monday. He was 76.

Crook died of natural causes at the veteran’s hospital in Montgomery, Ala., funeral director Charles Huff said.

Crook was a command sergeant major in the Army who won a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts, in addition to being on the 1960 Olympic team along with the fighter then known as Cassius Clay.

Crook had been a sure bet for the 1956 Olympics but broke his hand in an early fight.

Compiled from wire reports