I remember Close’s enormous paintings from the ‘70s and 80s. I always appreciated them. It’s odd to group him with the Minimalists, since his paintings are so intensely detailed, but that is where he belongs.
The art world sidelined photorealism as they thought of modern art as being a reaction against photography. Also not helpful that many artists used airbrushes which were considered more graphic design than “real” art. But who are they to say when the greatgrandfather of modern art put a urinal in a museum and called it art.