Obituary: Richard Mortensen

Richard Mortensen, painter, died Copenhagen 12 January, aged 82. A professor at the Academy of Arts in Copenhagen, he was a pioneer of abstract painting in Denmark. Co-founded with the sculptor Henry Heerup the group Linien ('the line') in 1934 which introduced abstraction into a country dominated by the romantic-style 19th-century Skagen group of painters. Decorated several Danish buildings, including the Aalborg sports complex.