James Richard Caudle, 90, nationally known artist, famed for his extraordinary talent for working in lead repoussé, died

March 11 at MidState Medical Hospital in Meriden. He had lived at the North End Artist Cooperative in Middletown until moving to Meriden three years ago. Born in Albemarle, North Carolina, he joined the U.S. Army at the beginning of World War II and was recruited into the OSS, serving in China behind enemy lines, earning a Bronze Star. At the end of the war, he attended Oakland's California College before earning his bachelor of arts degree at American University in Washington, D.C., where he later taught in a studio with famed Washington colorists Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland. He subsequently earned a second BFA and MFA at Yale University where he also taught briefly.

A prolific artist and Fulbright recipient, he became famous for his unique ability in working with the rare lead technique. He claimed that "the ductility and easy response of lead make it in a sense, my 'clay'. In my years of using this metal, I have explored many ideas, some abstract, but seldom have I left the human image as a principal theme."

He exhibited his sculptures across the country in galleries and museums, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Wadsworth Atheneum. After leaving his position at American University, he taught for many years at North Haven High School. He also co-curated four major exhibitions of the Hollycroft Foundation's "Sculpture Mile" at Ivoryton, West Haven, Manchester, and Middletown, and he participated in every Hollycroft exhibition from 1994 to 2008.

He is survived by an ex-wife, Adele Goodell of Kensington; three sons, Jan of Hamden, Michael and his wife Ann of Roosevelt, Utah, Richard and his wife Sharyn of Rocky Hill, and David and wife Vreni of Kensington; two daughters, Daphne Kilbourn of Putney, Vermont, and Louise (Millie) and her husband Bernie Rosenblatt of Clinton; nine grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

A private memorial service is being planned for early April. The Berlin Memorial Funeral Home in Berlin is in charge of arrangements.