1. Kadir Nelson is a Los Angeles-based painter, illustrator, and author who is best known for his paintings often featured on the covers of The New Yorker magazine, and album covers for Michael Jackson and Drake.
23 Facts About Kadir Nelson
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Kadir Nelson's work is focused on African-American culture and history.
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Kadir Nelson has twice been a Caldecott honor recipient and won the 2020 Caldecott Medal for his illustrations in The Undefeated.
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In 1996, Kadir 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.
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Kadir Nelson has since designed several commemorative postage stamps for the United States Postal Service including stamps featuring Wilt Chamberlain, Joe Dimaggio, and Richard Wright.
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In 2013, Kadir Nelson was commissioned to paint his first cover for The New Yorker magazine, a portrait of Kadir Nelson Mandela.
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Kadir Nelson has since created several memorable covers for the magazine including, Eustace Negro, Schomburg Center, Harlem, New York, and A Day at the Beach.
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Kadir Nelson was born in Washington DC, and grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey and San Diego, California, the son of author Emily Gunter and educator Lenwood Kadir Nelson.
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Kadir Nelson received his early training in art from his uncle, Michael Morris, who is an artist and art instructor.
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Kadir Nelson earned his BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York in 1996.
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Kadir Nelson's critically acclaimed authorial debut was created over the span of seven years and earned Kadir Nelson the Sibert Medal, a Coretta Scott King Author Award and Illustrator Honor.
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In 2008, Kadir Nelson was commissioned by the US House of Representatives to paint the official portrait of Representative Shirley Anita Chisholm.
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In 2017, Kadir Nelson was commissioned to paint a portrait of Henrietta Lacks to promote HBO's upcoming film, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, based on the book by Rebecca Skloot.
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In 2005, Kadir Nelson was contacted by Michael Jackson to create a commissioned painting of the King of Pop's life story.
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In 2013, Kadir Nelson was contacted by recording artist Drake to create two covers for his album Nothing Was the Same.
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Kadir Nelson has received multiple Gold and Silver Medals from the New York Society of Illustrators.
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In February 2014, Kadir Nelson was awarded the Hamilton King Award for best illustration of the year.
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Kadir Nelson is 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.
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Kadir Nelson won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award three times, in 2005,2007, and 2020.
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Kadir Nelson won the Caldecott Honor twice, in 2007 and 2008.
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Kadir Nelson won the Coretta Scott King Author Award again in 2012 for Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans.
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In 2020, Kadir Nelson won the Caldecott Medal and Coretta Scott King Award for his illustrations in The Undefeated.
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Kadir Nelson has had exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States and the world, including the Muskegon Museum of Art, Chicago Art Institute, and The Studio Museum in Harlem.