Chuck Close

In 1988, Close had a spinal artery collapse, on the day he was to give a speech at an art awards ceremony. He felt ill beforehand, asked to be first, gave his speech, then painfully went to a hospital across the street. A few hours later he was a quadriplegic and his painting career might have been terminated.

However Close continued to paint with a brush held between his teeth, creating large portraits in low-resolution grid squares created by an assistant.