Chuck Close

Biography

Chuck Close was a pioneering American visual artist born in Monroe, Washington, on July 5, 1940. A childhood neuromuscular condition and dyslexia shaped his early life, influencing his later work as a photographer and painter. After adapting to life with paralysis in 1988, Close created large-scale photorealist portraits of himself and others, including the iconic "Self in 'Smash His Camera'" (2010).