NEW YORK, July 12 (Reuters) - The estate of Chuck Close,

the artist known for massive photorealist portraits of himself

and others, settled a lawsuit accusing Cigna ( CI ) of failing

to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for needed medical care

in the last years of his life.

In a filing late Friday in Manhattan federal court, a lawyer

for Close's estate said both sides reached an agreement in

principle to settle, and expect to complete a settlement within

45 days and dismiss the case. Terms were not disclosed.

Cigna ( CI ), the insurer's lawyer and the lawyer for Close's

estate did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Close died in August 2021 at age 81.

He used a wheelchair after being paralyzed in 1988 with a

rare spinal artery rupture, and was later diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. Close began

receiving in-home nursing care in 2015.

The estate sued Cigna ( CI ) in August 2022 for $686,723 in

"wrongly denied benefits" plus interest.

Last December, a judge dismissed Cigna's ( CI ) counterclaim to

recoup $357,684 for services it believed were not medically

necessary.

Close's larger-than-life portraits featured many well-known

subjects, including composer Philip Glass and model Kate Moss.

His portraits could be indistinguishable from photographs when

reproduced, as in books.

The case is Estate of Close v Cigna Health and Life

Insurance Corp, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New

York, No. 22-07449.