Michael Whelan (born 29 June 1950) is an American artist of imaginative realism. For more than 30 years, he worked as an illustrator, specialising in science fiction and fantasy cover art. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted Whelan in June 2009, the first living artist so honoured. According to his Hall of Fame citation
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.
In my teens, I was fortunate to have the funds to buy the ‘Whelan’s Works of Wonder’ – a volume showcasing his excellent book-cover artwork. Below are four of my favourite images from it. You may recognise someone in one of them if you’ve looked in this website’s art section!
West Folio 