Born Kadir Nelson on May 15, 1974, in Silver Spring, MD.
Earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, in 1996. Nelson is known for painting realistic illustrations of African Americans and African American culture.
In addition to creating large-scale paintings, Nelson is also an award winning author/illustrator. In 2007 he won the Caldecott Honor for his illustrations in the book Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad. The next year, he won the Caldecott Honor for his illustrations in the book Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. In 2020 he won the Caldecott Award for his illustrations in The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander.
He lives in Los Angeles and frequently illustrates the covers for the New Yorker Magazine.
You can learn more about Kadir Nelson by visiting his website. In 2017 CBS Sunday Morning interviewed Nelson about his works of art. They had a follow up interview in 2020 in which they featured his pandemic-inspired painting After The Storm. He has works of art in many prestigious museums, including three Smithsonian Institutions: the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the United States Postal Museum. Kadir Nelson has illustrated over thirty children's books, album covers for Michael Jackson and Drake, and produced many stamp designs for the United States Postal Service. He is often compared with 20th century painter, Norman Rockwell, and last year the Norman Rockwell Museum hosted an exhibit of his works.
Shirley Chilsholm was the first elected Black woman to serve in Congress (1969 - 1983), and was the first Black candidate to run for the Presidential nomination of a major party (1972). She was a founding member of the Congressional Black Cacus and the National Women's Political Cacus. Chisholm is famous for saying, "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair." Ten years after her death, in 2015, Shirley Chisholm was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, or Nation's highest civilian honor.
2020 Caldecott Award Winner: The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander
2007 Caldecott Honor: Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine
2008 Caldecott Honor: Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford
Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm was an inspiration for Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. In 2019, she posted this photo posed in front of the Kadir Nelson portrait of Chisholm.