In 1996, Nelson began his career as a conceptual artist for Steven Spielberg's feature film Amistad, and the animated feature film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Nelson has since designed several commemorative postage stamps for the United States Postal Service including stamps featuring Wilt Chamberlain,[2]Joe Dimaggio,[3] and Richard Wright.[4] He has also authored and/or illustrated over 30 picture books including, Brothers of the Knight[5] by actress Debbie Allen, WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball,[6] which was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated[7] magazine, and Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans.[8] In 2013, Nelson was commissioned to paint his first cover for The New Yorker magazine, a portrait of Nelson Mandela.[9] Nelson has since created several memorable covers for the magazine including, Eustace Negro,[10]Schomburg Center, Harlem, New York,[11] and A Day at the Beach.[12]
Early life and education
Nelson was born in Washington D.C.,[13] and grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey and San Diego, California, the son of author Emily Gunter and educator Lenwood Nelson.[14] He received his early training in art from his uncle, Michael Morris, who is an artist and art instructor.[15] Both his uncle and his high school art teacher taught him important artistic principles and techniques, including how to paint with oils. After developing an impressive portfolio during high school, Crawford High in San Diego, Kadir Nelson earned a partial scholarship to the prestigious Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Nelson earned his BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York in 1996.[16]
Works
In August 1999, Nelson’s paintings depicting Negro league baseball scenes were featured in Sports Illustrated magazine on its opening Leading Off pages.[17] They were some of the first paintings in a series of works that led to Nelson writing and illustrating a book commemorating the history of the Negro Baseball Leagues entitled, We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro Leagues Baseball, published by Jump at the Sun in 2008.[6] Nelson’s critically acclaimed[18][19][20] authorial debut was created over the span of seven years and earned Nelson the Sibert Medal, a Coretta Scott King Author Award and Illustrator Honor.[21]We Are the Ship was released by Brilliance Audio as an audiobook in 2009, narrated by voice actor Dion Graham.
In 2005, Nelson was contacted by Michael Jackson to create a commissioned painting of the King of Pop’s life story. The commission was delayed and shelved for several years until the untimely death of the singer in 2009.[25] Upon which Nelson was tapped to resume the portrait to be used later for the posthumously released album titled Michael.[26][27] On Friday, December 10, 2010, a 29,070-square-foot (2,701m2) poster depicting the Michael album artwork was erected at the Rectory Farm in Middlesex, England, which broke a Guinness World Record for the largest poster in the world.[28]
In 2013, Nelson was contacted by recording artist Drake to create two covers for his album Nothing Was the Same.[29] The album artwork became a signature work for the recording artist, and the subject of multiple internet memes.[30] The album remained on the Billboard 200 sales chart for more than 400 weeks after its release in 2013.[31]
Recognition and honors
Nelson has received multiple Gold and Silver Medals from the New York Society of Illustrators. In February 2014, Nelson was awarded the Hamilton King Award for best illustration of the year. Nelson is also the recipient of three NAACP Image Awards for his illustrated picture books, and the New York Times Best Illustrated Book for We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball.
Change Has Come: An Artist Celebrates Our American Spirit, quotations from Barack Obama, black and white line drawings by Kadir Nelson. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009. ISBN978-1-4169-8955-4
Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson, by Sharon Robinson, Scholastic, 2009; ISBN978-0-545-05251-1
All God's Critters, song lyrics by Bill Staines, Simon & Schuster, 2009
Nelson Mandela, written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, 2013, ISBN0061783749
Baby Bear, written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, 2014, ISBN0062241729
If You Plant a Seed, written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, 2015, ISBN0062298895
Taylor, Mildred D. (2016). Roll of thunder, hear my cry. Introduction by Jacqueline Woodson; illustration by Kadir Nelson (40th Anniversary Specialed.). New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.
Blue Sky, White Stars, written by Sarvinder Naberhaus and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, 2017, ISBN0803737009
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
