A series of 23 abstract watercolor paintings by Connecticut artist C. Ronald Bechtle (born 1924) will be on view at the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts from October 25, 2011, through October 28, 2012 in the exhibition Poems II, 1969-1972: Watercolors by C. Ronald Bechtle.

Bechtle was born in Philadelphia where he attended Temple University, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the School of Industrial Art, and the Fleisher Memorial Art Foundation. From 1952 to 1955, he studied privately with artist Benton Spruance (1904-1967).

Bechtle works exclusively in watercolor, crayon, pastel and pencil. Heavily influenced by the works of Piero Della Francesca, Rembrandt, Goya, Matisse, and Gorky, Bechtle's work is primarily abstract or semi-abstract in nature. He has exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and has been president of Group 55, Philadelphia Abstract Artists. The D’Amour Museum holds 80 paintings by Bechtle in the collection.