Extraordinary Detail of Chuck Close Portrait is a Tribute to Elderly Relative

WASHINGTON, DC—Chuck Close in known for his enormous portraits—up close images that capture every detail of his subjects, visually exposing the real person behind the canvas.

Composed of countless fingerprints, this intimate work depicts his wife’s late grandmother Fanny, whom the artist called amazing, modest and kind.

“Fanny/Fingerpainting,” Close’s portrait of the elderly woman is hanging in the contemporary section of the National Gallery of Art.

Photos by Arts Observer


“Fanny/Fingerpainting,” 1985 (oil on canvas).

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