Documenting Chuck Close's vital engagement with photography over the course of many decades, this book offers the first full critical assessment of his work behind the camera. Beautifully produced, this unique volume traces Close's ambitious innovations in a medium he never intended to master. It presents the full spectrum of Close's camera work, from early Polaroids to large-format composites, studio maquettes, holograms, daguerreotypes, and Woodburytypes. The illustrations vary from Close's signature portraits and self-portraits to nudes, flowers, and delightful outtakes from sessions with celebrity subjects. With a penetrating essay by Colin Westerbeck and a fascinating conversation with the artist about his personal vision of photography, this book is destined to become an indispensable publication on one of the art world's most talented and intriguing figures. It will offer new insights into Close's creative process as well as his courageous and resourceful forays into a uniquely modern medium that he has made his very own. AUTHOR: Based in Los Angeles, Colin Westerbeck writes frequently on photography for Art in America. He was formerly Director of the California Museum of Photography at the University of California, Riverside, and Curator of Photography at the Art Institute of Chicago. Terrie Sultan is Director of the Parrish Art Museum on New York's Long Island. She is the author of numerous exhibition catalogs and books, including Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration (Prestel). 200 colour illustrations