Robert L. Danzig, 81, a retired North Shore child psychologist, optical artist and longtime resident of Evanston, died Wednesday in Oakwood Terrace Nursing Home in Evanston.
Mr. Danzig, who was born in Indianapolis, practiced child psychology for 50 years in Chicago and Glencoe. He had a private practice for 42 years and specialized in child and parental therapy.
Mr. Danzig graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington with a degree in chemistry and received a master’s degree in social sciences from Northwestern University in 1941.
He worked for several years at the Institute for Juvenile Research and the Chicago Relief Administration before serving as a psychologist in the Navy during World War II. He was based at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois and in Norfolk, Va.
After the war, Mr. Danzig was a therapist in the Jewish Children’s Bureau of Chicago for eight years. In 1952, he established his own practice in Chicago and later moved the office to Glencoe. He retired in 1994.
Away from his office, Mr. Danzig could be found immersed in producing kinetic and optical art. Inspired by famed optical artist Victor Vasarely, Mr. Danzig took common items and positioned them to create unusual patterns based on optical illusions.
“Art was a real source of satisfaction for him,” said his son, Steve Danzig.
Mr. Danzig exhibited his works in a variety of art shows including the Old Orchard Art Fair.
Besides his son, Mr. Danzig is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth Derry. No service is planned.
