Published by Prestel, NY. 2010. Hand SIGNED by Chuck Close & Christopher Finch.  Hardcover monograph.  Excellent condition, unread. Inside of front board (top left) is a very small white mark as depicted in images.

ISBN 10: 3791336770  ISBN 13: 9783791336770

This amazing book, LIFE, is a true gem for collectors and enthusiasts of Chuck Close's work. Signed by the artist himself and Christopher Finch, this is a first edition copy that is sure to be a valuable addition to any collection. The book features stunning reproductions of Close's iconic portraits and insightful commentary on his artistic process. Whether you're a longtime fan or just discovering Close's work, this book is a must-have for any art lover.

For decades Close's larger-than-life and unflinchingly honest paintings of friends and family, and self-portraits have won admiration from a wide audience. Having reinvented portraiture for the late twentieth century, he is now arguably America's most famous living artist. Not everyone who appreciates his work realizes the extraordinary determination and talent behind the art. In this book, following the publication of his celebrated monograph on Close's art, Christopher Finch offers an intimate, revealing portrait of the artist. Close's inspiring story is one of overcoming obstacles, pursuing artistic integrity, and striving always to learn and grow. Finch, a veteran writer and critic who has known Close intimately since his early days in the rough-and-tumble bohemia of 1960s SoHo in New York, tells Close's inspiring personal history - his struggle with learning disabilities as a youth and his triumph over a medical catastrophe (a collapsed anterior spinal artery) that left him almost completely paralyzed below the neck. How he regained his ability to make art and not only resumed but, as many believe, surpassed his previous work, is an unparalleled story.

In the 1960s, Chuck Close pioneered Photorealism with his monumental, exquisitely detailed portraits whose subjects he took from photographic sources. Playing with ideas of color, scale, and form, he later gained renown for gridded paintings that appear abstract from up close and highly realistic and pixelated from afar. Close has exhibited extensively since the ’60s and enjoyed solo shows at the Walker Art Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the State Hermitage Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, among other institutions. He has featured in group exhibitions at the Venice Biennale and Documenta on multiple occasions. At auction, his work has sold for seven figures. Close has often depicted his family and friends, including fellow artists Robert Rauschenberg, Cindy Sherman, and Richard Serra. His work links him not only to other Photorealists such as Richard Estes and Audrey Flack, but also to the Conceptual art movement.