Value Indicators
Recognition
Rebelling against pure abstraction when portraiture was considered dead, Close turned intimate snapshots of peers like Philip Glass and Alex Katz into iconic works of modern printmaking. Awarded the National Medal of Arts, he has been exhibited at MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate, and Centre Pompidou.
Intent
Setting aside the paintbrush entirely, Close portrays his young daughter Georgia using only the inked touch of his own fingertips, joining the act of seeing with the intimacy of a father's literal touch.
Composition
In this direct gravure, Close stamped his inked thumb and fingers onto clear film—lifting highlights with an eraser—before etching every delicate skin ridge into a copper plate to render wisps of hair, eyelashes, and soft light on heavy rag paper.
Ceres Take
Chuck has reached $4.8M at auction. This is one of the final impressions available of his Fingerprint series and this matters with a deceased, highly-acclaimed artist.
PARENT TECHNIQUE
Etching
Etching is a form of printmaking that involves creating designs on a copper plate, using an acid-resistant material like wax or resin. The artist scratches through this material to expose the metal underneath. The plate is then submerged in an acid bath, which bites into the exposed areas, creating grooves....
COMPLEMENTARY WORKS
Diptych VII
James Brown
$26,000
Tehama I
Catherine Lee
$2,900
Tehama II
Catherine Lee
$2,900
Tehama III
Catherine Lee
$2,900
Tehama IV
Catherine Lee
$2,900
Tehama V
Catherine Lee
$2,900
Tehama VI
Catherine Lee
$2,900
7 Locks
Mel Kendrick
$4,500
Georgia/Fingerprint I
Chuck Close
