Chuck Close

unique mural-sized Polaroid Polacolor print, signed, titled, and dated in ink in the margin, flush-mounted, framed, 1980

Although this oversized Polaroid print has not been examined out of its frame, it appears to be in generally excellent condition. The colors are rich and vibrant, with no apparent fading.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

In 1979, while working in Cambridge with Polaroid's 20-by-24-inch camera (see Lots 3 and 26), Chuck Close heard about another, even larger, Polaroid camera housed in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.  Developed initially to take actual-size photographs of paintings,  the massive 40-by-80-inch camera was essentially its own light-tight room.  Close lobbied for access to this camera, known as the Museum Camera, and was granted it in 1980.  The monumental self-portrait offered here is one of the photographs Close made with the camera in that year. 

During his first sessions with this massive camera, Close concentrated on portrait subjects.  Frequently he took his position inside the camera, wearing night-vision goggles, to assist in positioning the film and manipulating the exposure mechanism.  The unwieldiness of the process did nothing to stifle his creativity, and the work he created with the camera is consistently inventive.  He would go on, in 1984, to produce with this camera a series of multi-image compositions of nude dancers, each 40-by-80-inch photograph comprising a segment of an immense composite.  While these works are impressive, none conveys the monumentality or impact of the Self Portrait offered here, or bears as strong a relationship to the rest of Close's oeuvre.