Charles Thomas "Chuck" Close (born 1940) is an American painter, artist and photographer who achieved fame as a photorealist, through his massive-scale portraits. Close often paints abstract portraits of himself and others. Although a catastrophic spinal artery collapse in 1988 left him severely paralyzed, he has continued to paint and produce work. He is represented by Pace and White Cube and his work is collected by international institutions such as the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Tate, MoMA and the Broad Foundation.