Famed painter Chuck Close, whose roots were here, dies at 81
EVERETT – Chuck Close, an internationally renowned painter and photographer with roots in Snohomish County, died Thursday in New York, where he lived most of his life.
His death in a hospital in Oceanside, New York, was announced by his attorney, John Silberman, according to The New York Times. He was 81.
His huge portraits, using grids and intricate patterns to form realistic paintings, earned him world fame. In 2016 he came to Everett for the opening of the four-month exhibition “Chuck Close: Prints, Process, and Collaboration” at the Schack Art Center. The tour print show was previously shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Charles “Chuck” Close was born on July 4, 1940 in Monroe to Mildred and Leslie Durward Close.
In a 1987 oral history interview for the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, Close described Monroe as “a smelly little town halfway up the Cascade Mountains” and said, “I was born at home – not in a hospital – with humble beginnings.”
He graduated from Everett Community College in 1960, where he was tutored by Russell Day, a legendary art teacher at the school. Despite learning difficulties as a younger student, Close earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and a master’s of fine arts from Yale University.
He had been using a wheelchair since 1988 when a collapsed spinal artery left him with severe paralysis. Despite his physical struggles, he worked to recycle his arms and continued to paint, producing works sought after by collectors and museums around the world.
In a letter to Judy Tuohy, managing director of the Schack Art Center, Close shared what the exhibition meant to him:
“This is the first time I’ve had a major exhibition of my work in Snohomish County or Everett,” he wrote. “I’m honored and it’s great for people who knew me to see what I’m doing now. It is particularly gratifying to know that my work is shown where I grew up. “
Tight sexual misconduct allegations in 2018 that resulted in the cancellation of an exhibition of his work at the National Gallery of Art. He denied allegations of sexually molesting women who went to his studio to pose for him and apologized for making anyone feel uncomfortable, according to The New York Times.
“William Jefferson Clinton” by Chuck Close, oil on canvas, 2006. (Astrid Riecken for The Washington Post)
The Times reported that Close was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2013 and that two years later the diagnosis was changed to a different type of dementia.
In the late 1960s, Close began creating giant photorealistic-style paintings based on “mug shots of him and his friends,” according to The New York Times. One of his best-known works is a self-portrait that shows him in black-rimmed glasses while smoking a cigarette.
“He’s a world figure,” Russell Day said of Close in 2008. That was the year EvCC renamed its showroom the Russell Day Gallery. Day, who retired from EvCC in 1976, was 106 years old when he died in 2019.
Their admiration had been mutual. In an EvCC exhibition catalog, Russell Day: Catalyst, Close credits his ex-teacher for his accomplishments: “In the 1950s, I attended Everett’s South Junior High School and Everett High School, where I had severe learning difficulties. I was told that I would never be able to be successful in college, ”said Close, writing that he owed“ everything I have achieved ”to Day and his wife, Marjorie Day.
In 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Close the National Medal of Arts.
Julie Mühlstein: [email protected]
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“William Jefferson Clinton” by Chuck Close, oil on canvas, 2006. (Astrid Riecken for The Washington Post)