B. 1940 - Chuck Close was born on July 5th, 1940 in Monroe, Washington. Close is one of the top names associated with both Pop Art and Photo-Realism. Ever since the early 70's, Chuck Close has been a leading figure in contemporary art. He is known for his black and white grid face portraits, "heads" of people's faces that are not idealized, and since the late 1960s has been a mainstay of the contemporary art scene.People were absolutely stunned when he introduced color into his collection. He attended the University of Washington in Seattle from 1958 to 62 and there received a B.A. From 1962 to 64 he attended Yale University School of Art and Architecture in New Haven, Connecticut and received a B.F.A. in 1963 and an M.F.A. in 1964. In 1964 and 65, he received Fulbright Fellowship to study at the Akademie der Bildenen Künste in Vienna. At the peak of his career in 1988, Close became paralyzed due to a blood clot in his spinal column. He regained partial use of his arm. People thought it was the end of his brilliant creating. How could a man in a wheelchair make incredible, monumental art? They were wrong. Three years after becoming paralyzed, a show of his new paintings astonished the world yet again.