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Chuck Close Photography

American, 1940-2021

Chuck Close was renowned for his highly inventive techniques of painting the human face and was best known for his large-scale, photo-based portrait paintings.

After earning his MFA from Yale in 1964, Close took his place atop the American art world by creating large-scale, Photorealistic portraits that have creatively blurred the distinction between photography and painting. In 1988, Close was paralyzed following a rare spinal artery collapse; despite the physical limitations, the artist pressed forward with his work. With a brush taped to his wrist, he continued to paint.

In 2000, Close was presented with the prestigious National Medal of Arts by President Clinton and was appointed by President Obama to serve on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

"Yes, it is hard to paint blur," Close said. "There are some works I made by using a grid of string to help me perceive changes in depth of focus — something artists have done for centuries. The depth of field in the daguerreotypes is a function of the process of making an image that way, with a very short, very bright flash of light."

Although Close had employed various painterly styles throughout his career, he is perhaps best known for his grid set on the diagonal. Close’s paintings are all-over images where the background of the picture – the negative space – is as important as the face itself, and one cannot exist without the other.

Close often took his family and friends as models, making monumental and classical works that are bold in their simplicity. His 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 State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia de Madrid and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

(Biography provided by Weng Contemporary – ArtXX AG)

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Artist: Chuck Close
Untitled (Kate #15)
By Chuck Close
Located in Calabasas, CA
Artist: Chuck Close Title: Untitled (Kates #15) Year: 2005 Medium: Digital pigment print on Hahnemuhle Satin paper Edition: 25 + Proofs; signed, dated and numbered in pencil Sheet: 2...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Chuck Close Photography

Materials

Digital Pigment

Untitled (Kate #13)
By Chuck Close
Located in Calabasas, CA
Artist: Chuck Close Title: Untitled (Kates #13) Year: 2005 Medium: Digital pigment print on Hahnemuhle Satin paper Edition: 25; signed, dated and numbered in pencil Sheet: 17 x 22 in...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Chuck Close Photography

Materials

Digital Pigment

Untitled (Kate #11)
By Chuck Close
Located in Calabasas, CA
Artist: Chuck Close Title: Untitled (Kates #11) Year: 2005 Medium: Digital pigment print on Hahnemuhle Satin paper Edition: 25; signed, dated and numbered in pencil Sheet: 17 x 22 inches (43.18 x 55.88 cm) Frame: 19 1/2 x 24 1/2 inches (49.53 x 62.23 cm) Certificate of Authenticity included For its September 2003 issue, W. magazine commissioned artists Richard Prince, Takashi Murakami, Lisa Yuskavage...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Chuck Close Photography

Materials

Digital Pigment

Dalai Lama
By Chuck Close
Located in Calabasas, CA
Artist: Chuck Close Title: Dalai Lama Year: 2005 Medium: Digital pigment print on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag paper Edition: 300; signed, dated and numbered in pen...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Chuck Close Photography

Materials

Digital Pigment

Untitled (Kate #14)
By Chuck Close
Located in Calabasas, CA
Artist: Chuck Close Title: Untitled (Kates #14) Year: 2005 Medium: Digital pigment print on Hahnemuhle Satin paper Edition: 25 + Proofs; signed, dated and numbered in pencil Sheet: 20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.64 cm) Frame: 22 5/8 x `18 5/8 inches (57.4 x 47.2 cm) Certificate of Authenticity included For its September 2003 issue, W. magazine commissioned artists Richard Prince, Takashi Murakami, Lisa...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Chuck Close Photography

Materials

Digital Pigment

SELF PORTRAIT 2
By Chuck Close
Located in Aventura, FL
Hand signed, numbered and dated by the artist in pencil. From the Self Portrait 1-5 series. Artwork is in excellent condition. Image size: 25 x 19 inches. Frame size: 32.6 x 25.75 in...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Chuck Close Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Paper

Untitled
By Chuck Close
Located in New York, NY
1967/printed 1999 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil, recto Iris print (Edition of 100) 30 x 22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm), sheet 20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm), image Contact ga...
Category

1960s Contemporary Chuck Close Photography

Materials

Digital

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Previously Available Items
Chuck Close Big Self-Portrait exhibition poster 1973
By Chuck Close
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Chuck Close Big Self Portrait Exhibit Poster Rare 1973 exhibition poster uniquely featuring Chuck Close's Big Self Portrait; published for an exhibition at Bykert Gallery, New York (November 15, 1973) - the very same gallery which hosted Close's historic first solo exhibition. Filled with much character; well-suited for framing. An iconic vintage 1970's Chuck Close collector's piece priced within reach. Off-Set lithograph 1973. 19 x 23 inches. Very good overall vintage condition; some minor surface markings to the reverse side (not visible through the front). Unsigned from an edition of unknown; rare. Further Background Chuck Close was an American artist known for his large-scale Photorealist portraits. He constructed his paintings through a grid system, in where each square on the canvas corresponded with a squared off cell on a reference photograph. His works focused mainly on self-portraits or portraits of his family and friends, including the artists Richard Serra, Alex Katz, Cindy Sherman, and Cecily Brown. Similar to the Pointillist works of Georges Seurat, Close’s compositions come in to focus the further an observer stands from them. “I realized that to deal with your nature is also to construct a series of limitations which just don't allow you to behave the way you most naturally want to behave,” he said of his technique. “So, I found it incredibly liberating to work for a long time on something even though I'm impatient.” Born on July 5, 1940 in Monroe, WA, the artist struggled with dyslexia and facial blindness throughout his life. He went on to receive his MFA from the Yale School of Art in 1962, while at Yale he worked in an Abstract Expressionist style. It was after seeing Sol LeWitt’s process-based work that Close began experimenting with the grid system he is now known for. On December 7 1988, Close suffered a spinal artery collapse which left him paralyzed and wheelchair bound. Undeterred, the artist adapted his method of painting to compensate and now works with a brush strapped to his wrist. His works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, among others. Close passed away on August 19, 2021 at the age of 81. Related Categories: Chuck Close Big Self Portrait. Chuck Close photography. Chuck Close prints. Chuck Close self portrait...
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Untitled (Kate #16)
By Chuck Close
Located in Calabasas, CA
Artist: Chuck Close Title: Untitled (Kates #16) Year: 2005 Medium: Digital pigment print on Hahnemuhle Satin paper Edition: 25; signed, dated and numbered in pencil Sheet: 20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.64 cm) Frame: 18 5/8 x 22 5/8 inches (47.19 x 57.35 cm) Certificate of Authenticity included For its September 2003 issue, W. magazine commissioned artists Richard Prince, Takashi Murakami, Lisa Yuskavage...
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Sunflower
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Located in Fairlawn, OH
Polaroid polacolor II photograph Signed and dated in ink From: The Indominal Spirit Portfolio, 1990 The Indomitable Spirit Portfolio published in 1990 in an edition of 50. The portfolio, featuring works by John Baldessari, Barbara Kruger, Annette Lemieux...
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Chuck Close: Daguerreotypes Book, Signed by Chuck Close
By Chuck Close
Located in New York, NY
Paparoni, Demetrio. CHUCK CLOSE: Daguerreotypes. Foreword by Philip Glass, conversation between the artist, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and Jerry Spagnoli; 224 pages, illustrated thro...
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21st Century and Contemporary Chuck Close Photography

Chuck Close photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Chuck Close photography available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Chuck Close in digital pigment print, pigment print, paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Chuck Close photography, so small editions measuring 16 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Rachel Papo, Annie Leibovitz, and Jonathan Zimmerman. Chuck Close photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,400 and tops out at $25,000, while the average work can sell for $12,500.
Questions About Chuck Close Photography
  • 1stDibs ExpertMay 3, 2024
    Chuck Close lived in a few places. He was born in Monroe, Washington, in 1940 and grew up in the area. Close attended Everett Community College in Everett, Washington, and received his bachelor's degree from the University of Washington in Seattle. Then, he relocated to Connecticut to pursue a master's degree from Yale University. His studies would also prompt him to move to Vienna, Austria, to take courses at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. After graduation, Close settled in the Amherst, Massachusetts, area while working at the University of Massachusetts. In 1967, he moved again to New York City, New York, to establish his own studio in Soho. Close died in 2021 in Oceanside, New York. Explore a variety of Chuck Close art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertAugust 8, 2024
    Chuck Close stated that he painted portraits as a way to overcome a cognitive disorder. Called prosopagnosia, or face blindness, the condition made it difficult for Close to differentiate and recognize faces. The American artist found that painting people's faces helped him to notice their fine details, allowing him to begin to notice differences. On 1stDibs, shop a range of Chuck Close art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertOctober 24, 2024
    How much Chuck Close paintings are worth depends on their size, condition, historical significance and other factors. In 2005, his piece John sold for $4.8 million at auction in New York City. The painting was one of the large-scale, photo-based portrait paintings for which the American painter was widely known. These portraits creatively blur the distinction between photography and painting. If you own a Close painting, a certified appraiser or knowledgeable art dealer can assist you with the valuation process. Shop an assortment of Chuck Close art on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Chuck Close is most well-known for doing paintings, but he also worked as a photographer. The American artist is most famous for creating huge portraits of himself in both abstract and photorealistic styles. Find a collection of Chuck Close art on 1stDibs.

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