Chuck Close (born July 5, 1940) is an American painter, artist and photographer. He makes massive-scale photorealist portraits. Close often paints abstract portraits of himself and others, which hang in collections internationally. Close also creates photo portraits using a very large format camera. Even though a catastrophic spinal artery collapse in 1988 left him severely paralyzed, he has continued to paint.

Source:

Fascinated by the forensic clarity of the archaic daguerreotype process that captured a unique image directly on a sensitized silvered-copper plate, Close embarked in 2000 on an extensive series of daguerreotype portraits of a naked and tangibly real Kate Moss. A selected few were then digitally scanned and released as archival pigment prints, and in the case of the present image, as a large-format jacquard tapestry. The effect is an uncompromising series of close-cropped portraits that emphasize the un-cosmeticized physical presence of their subject.