Quote of the Day: Chuck Close

"I hate art fairs. I think that for an artist to go to an art fair, it's like taking a cow on a guided tour of a slaughterhouse. You know that sort of thing is going on, but you don't want to see it."

That's artist Chuck Close, speaking to New York Magazine at the 2007 Whitney Studio Party at the Whitney Museum last week.

The painting above (acrylic on canvas) is from 1967-8, and it's called "Big Self Portrait." It was acquired by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis in 1969. It's about 9 feet tall.