My friend Marcus Reichert, who has died aged 73, was an American painter and neo-noir film director who spent much of his life in Britain.
Marcus’s paintings reflected a darkly sophisticated vision. He painted a crucifixion series that was described by Richard Harries, when he was bishop of Oxford, as among the most disturbing painted in the 20th century, and the American critic Donald Kuspit wrote that Picasso’s and Bacon’s crucifixion paintings paled in comparison. Later works featured large vessels – vases and urns – filled with flowers and vines in a vivid and distinctive palette. Most recently he had explored the infinity symbol in a series of new paintings.
