After more than 30 years in law enforcement, including service as Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento, Michael R. Nelson retired and devoted the next 26 years (and counting) to art, with the same discipline and focus that defined his public service career. And, at age 81, there’s no sign of this former lawman slowing down any time soon.

Website Launch and U.S. Marshals Legacy In June 2026, Nelson launched a significantly updated website, www.nelsonfinearts.com, featuring new paintings alongside longtime favorites. Many of his earlier paintings vividly portray the western U.S. Marshal, when travel was by horseback across rugged terrain.

To help mark the U.S. Marshals Service bicentennial in 1989, the Director requested a western-themed painting titled “One to Bury, One to Hang”, that toured nationally as part of the Smithsonian bicentennial display and is now permanently exhibited at U.S. Marshals Headquarters in Washington, D.C., alongside four other original Nelson paintings. Nelson’s artwork has become a recognizable symbol of the United States Marshal Service and is proudly displayed in most U.S. Marshal’s offices across the country.

Sacramento Recognition In 2024, the U.S. Marshal’s Office in Sacramento honored retired Chief Nelson in a televised ceremony by renaming its training room the “Chief Michael R. Nelson Art Gallery and Training Room.” Federal judges, staff, friends and family attended the dedication. The room permanently displays prints of Nelson’s five U.S. Marshal paintings, along with four original landscapes of Tahoe, Shasta, Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada.

“When I look at each of Michael R. Nelson’s paintings, I feel like I'm there, in a place of beauty, tranquility, peace and grandeur,” says Lisa Hus, founder of MSMP in Southern California. “I want to experience and explore all the details and intricacies.”

Featured Work Nelson’s most recent commissioned painting, Guilin Dreaming , invites viewers into a vivid Asian landscape of aqua water, steel-blue craggy mountains, lush greenery, waterfalls, and Chinese cranes. The composition encourages the eye to wander through the scene and discover hidden details.

Golf, Wildlife, Landscapes, Seascapes, Hawaii, Commissioned Pets and More Years of travel to his wife’s native Kauai and throughout the Hawaiian Islands inspired paintings of tucked-away coves and landscapes that sold quickly in several Hawaiian galleries. Visitors to Nelson’s website will also find golf-course scenes and still life, along with vivid wildlife paintings and beautiful seascapes. For more information, go to www.NelsonFineArts.com