Chuck Close
Chuck Close was a visual artist noted for his highly inventive techniques used to paint the human face and was best known for his large-scale, photo-based portrait paintings. He was also an accomplished printmaker and photographer whose work has been the subject of more than 200 solo exhibitions in more than 20 countries, including major retrospective exhibitions at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid and most recently at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. He also participated in nearly 800 group exhibitions. In 1988, Close was paralyzed following a rare spinal artery collapse; he continued to paint using a brush-holding device strapped to his wrist and forearm. He received many awards, among them the prestigious National Medal of Arts, which was presented in 2000 by President Clinton. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Close served on the board of many arts organizations and was appointed by President Obama to serve on The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
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