KADIR NELSON

KADIR NELSON (b. 1974) is an award-winning American artist and author based in Los Angeles, California. His salient original paintings reside in the permanent collections of several notable institutions including the United States House of Representatives, the Muskegon Museum of Art, The National Baseball Hall of Fame, United States Postal Museum, the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland, and most recently, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, the World Trade Center, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, among others.

Upon earning a BFA from Pratt Institute, Nelson was selected by DreamWorks Pictures to create conceptual artwork to inspire the visuals for Steven Spielberg’s Oscar® nominated feature, Amistad and the animated feature, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. He has since surmounted a distinguished list of clients including HBO, Rolling Stone, National Geographic, Disney, ABC, Hennessy, and Sony Music, for whom he painted the cover artwork for Michael Jackson’s posthumous album, Michael, which was listed in the Guinness Book of Records® for the largest poster in the world. Nelson was also commissioned to paint the iconic album cover for the multi-platinum selling album, Nothing Was the Same by recording artist Drake; as well as over a dozen popular commemorative US postage stamps honoring legends, such as Major League All-Stars Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio, NBA great Wilt Chamberlain, and the prince of soul, Marvin Gaye, which altogether have sold several million postage stamps.

Nelson’s striking artwork has also frequently graced covers of The New Yorker magazine, paying tribute to historical figures, New York City, and American life. In 2020, Nelson was tapped by the magazine to create arresting imagery to document the turbulent year as the world faced both a global pandemic and critical social and political movements. His masterful cover painting, Say Their Names, which artfully memorialized the historical events around the murder of George Floyd received over 8.3 million social impressions worldwide. For the July cover issue of Rolling Stone, Nelson commemorated grassroots activism and the Black Lives Matter movement with, American Uprising, a modern spin on Eugéne Delacroix’s masterpiece, Liberty Leading the People. And, to celebrate season 7 of ABC’s hit television sitcom Black-ish, Nelson was commissioned to paint the key art entitled, Blackish Tea, a classy and humorous commentary to cap off the year.

Additionally, Nelson has also authored and illustrated several award-winning New York Times Bestselling® picture books including, BASKET BALL: The Story of the All-American Game, and WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball, which was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine, and Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans. Currently, he has over 30 children’s book titles in print with a global circulation in the millions, and in multiple languages. Nelson’s list of illustrated children’s books include titles by Debbie Allen, Will Smith, Spike and Tonya Lee, and Delores Jordan, mother of NBA great Michael Jordan. In 2020, Nelson was awarded the coveted Caldecott Medal and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for the masterful book, THE UNDEFEATED, written by Kwame Alexander. Among Nelson’s other accolades are the prestigious Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators in New York, Freelancer of the Year Award from The Art Directors Club, multiple Caldecott Honors, Coretta Scott King Author and Illustrator Awards from the American Library Association, New York Times Best Illustrated Books Awards, and an Olympic Art Bronze Medal. 

Nelson’s primarily figurative paintings and sculptures focus on historical narratives and heroic subjects in American culture and are often informed by the Old Masters like Ingres, Michelangelo, Hopper, and Tanner. His sumptuous settings and characters, rich palette, and realistic, yet painterly technique speaks to both modern urban realism and masterly works of turn-of-the century American painters.