Chuck Close, , American Painter of <br />Large-Scale Portraits, , Dead at 81.<br />Close died on Aug. 19 at a hospital in Oceanside, <br />New York, according to his attorney, John Silberman.<br />Close died on Aug. 19 at a hospital in Oceanside, <br />New York, according to his attorney, John Silberman.<br />According to 'The Guardian,' he died <br />of congestive heart failure.<br />Close was best known for his large-scale grid portraits and photo-based paintings.<br />Close was best known for his large-scale grid portraits and photo-based paintings.<br />He rose to fame throughout the 1970s and 80s with many career highlights such as a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1973.<br />He rose to fame throughout the 1970s and 80s with many career highlights such as a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1973.<br />In 1988, Close was paralyzed from the neck down following a collapsed spinal artery.<br />After rehabilitation, he learned how to paint again and reinvented his style, strapping brushes to his wrists.<br />Close was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2013 and dementia in 2015.<br />In 2017, Close was accused of sexual harassment by women who had offered to model for him at his studio in prior years.<br />At the time, he released a statement <br />to 'The New York Times.'.<br />I never reduced anyone to tears, no one ever ran out of the place. If I embarrassed anyone or made them feel uncomfortable, I am truly sorry, I didn’t mean to. I acknowledge having a dirty mouth, but we’re all adults, Chuck Close, to 'The New York Times'.<br />As a result, in 2018, a planned exhibition at Washington's National Gallery of Art was canceled.<br />His doctor, Thomas M. Wisniewski, <br />told 'The New York Times' that his behavior <br />could have been caused by his health conditions.<br />[Close] was very disinhibited and did inappropriate things, which were part of his underlying medical condition. Frontotemporal dementia affects executive function. It’s like a patient having a lobotomy – it destroys that part of the brain that governs behavior and inhibits base instincts, Dr. Thomas M. Wisniewski, to 'The New York Times'
