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Famed artist Chuck Close, who late in his career faced sexual harassment allegations, has died. He was 81.
Close’s attorney, John Silberman, confirmed his death to PEOPLE. His cause of death was not clear, thoughThe Washington Postreported that hesuffered from congestive heart failure.
Known for hisphotorealistic portraitsClose began using art as a way to navigate a learning disability. As a student at the University of Washington and Yale, he found inspiration in the paintings of Arshile Gorky and Willem de Kooning.
In the mid-1960s, he taught painting at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He received his first solo exhibition at the campus in 1967. The exhibition featured paintings of male nudes.
One of his most well-known pieces is a black-and-white self portrait from 1968, titledBig Self-Portrait. In the painting, a young Close holds a cigarette between his lips as he stares back at the viewer through thick black-rimmed glasses.
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In 2017, the artist was accused ofsexually harassing several womenat various times between 2005 and 2013, according to theNew York Times. Some of the women had allegedly come to his studio to pose for him.
In December of that year, he acknowledged his previous actions during an interview with theNYT, saying: “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.”
In light of the allegations, the National Gallery of Art in Washingtoncanceled a display of his work, according toThe Washington Post. However, other museums across the globe continued to show his paintings.
Close was also diagnosed in 2013 withfrontotemporal dementia— which is an uncommon brain disorder that causes the frontal and temporal lobes to shrink and can impact personality, behavior and language, according to the Mayo Clinic.
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Prior to his dementia diagnosis, he was diagnosed with spinal artery collapse in 1988, which left him nearly completely paralyzed from the neck down, theWashington Postreports. He spent years regaining his ability to paint and spent the rest of his life using a wheelchair.
In addition to painting himself, Close also created portraits of other artists and friends. He only once painted a portrait of someone outside his immediate circle, according to theNYT.
In 2006 he painted a portrait of former President Bill Clinton, who had awarded him a National Medal of Arts in 2000, the newspaper reports.
source: people.com
