Chuck Close was born July 5, 1940 in Monroe, Washington. When he was 14 years old, he saw some of Jackson Pallock's artwork and it inspired him. He later went on to study at the University of Washington School of Art and Yale University School of Art and Architecture. He was really good at enlarging and photographs by drawing them. A lot of his work was in black and white and it was very detailed. He is now 71 years old and has had a great, successful life.