Ralph Lewis Nelson was born on February 2, 1885, in Coal City, Illinois. After his mother died when he was two and a half years old, he was raised by his aunts and uncles. He attended Baptist College in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and it was there that he received his first formal art training. He also studied commercial art. He studied art at the Cleveland School of Art, Des Moines School of Art, Cochran School in Washington, D.C., and the Art Students League in New York. Nelson worked for newspapers around the country including the Cleveland Press, Washington Star, Washington Times, New York Herald, and New York World. During World War I he enlisted in the Marines where he created publicity and recruiting artwork. He conceived of the concept and design for the Uncle Sam I Want You poster that Montgomery Flagg went on to paint. After the War Nelson moved to New York City and married Bernice Merrill. Throughout the 1920s he worked free-lance, focusing on illustrations and book jacket designs. In 1928 he moved from New York to Wilton, Connecticut. Prior to the WPA Federal Arts Project, he worked for the Public Works of Art Project. He began working for the WPA in 1935, completing 118 easel works that were allocated to many public institutions across the state. He also completed many murals, some of which have been lost. During World War II Nelson painted triptychs for portable altars that were sent overseas. He spent the last 27 years of his life in Bethlehem, Connecticut. For the last ten years of his life he was legally blind but continued to paint. He was an active exhibitor at the Kent and Washington Art Associations and helped found the annual art show at the Bethlehem Fair. He also assisted in the formation of Artists and Writers of Connecticut. Nelson died on May 7, 1967, and is buried in Bethlehem Cemetery, Bethlehem, Connecticut.

 Sources: WPA Artist’s Work Card; WPA Biography; Thomas R. Egan, The Sunday Republican Magazine, October 11, 1964; Carolyn Gonzales; “Some Biographical Information on Ralph Nelson,” October 1999; AskART; Social Security Death Index; “Ralph Lewis Nelson, February 2, 1885-May 7, 1967”;Who Was Who In American Art (1986), p. 445; “Schools Will Get Mural Panels Soon,” Hartford Courant, December 18, 1936.