Michael whelan dragon sculptures

American fantasy and science fiction artist

For other people named Michael Whelan, see Michael Whelan (disambiguation).

Michael Whelan (born June 29, 1950)^[1] is an Americanartist of imaginative realism.

For more than 30 years, he worked as an illustrator, specializing in science fiction and fantasycover art.^[2] Since the mid-1990s, he has pursued a fine art career, selling non-commissioned paintings through galleries in the United States and through his website.

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted Whelan in June 2009, the first living artist so honored.^[3][4] According to his Hall of Fame citation^[5]

Michael Whelan is one of the most important contemporary science fiction and fantasy artists, and certainly the most popular.

His work was a dominant force in the transition of genre book covers away from the surrealism introduced in the 1950s and 1960s back to realism.

His paintings have appeared on th