"When every kid on the block wanted to become a policeman or fireman, I wanted to be an artist. It was the first thing that I was good at, the first thing that really made me special. I had skills

Chuck Close: Up Close

"When every kid on the block wanted to become a policeman or fireman, I wanted to be an artist. It was the first thing that I was good at, the first thing that really made me special. I had skills the other kids didn't have. Art saved my life." These are the words of Chuck Close, one of America's most celebrated artists and the subject of this inspiring and thought-provoking book. Through interviews conducted with Close as well as an analysis of his technique, acclaimed authors Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan explore the ways in which an artist's life and work intertwine. Close's remarkable larger-than-life portraits are the result of a carefully constructed system that finds its roots in both his struggle to overcome severe learning difficulties as a child and immense physical challenges later in life. With full-color reproductions of Close's work as well as additional material on portraits and portraiture, plus a glossary and bibliography, this is an engaging and accessible study of an extraordinary artist, the subject of over one hundred one-man shows, including a retrospective exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Chuck Close: Up Close