Agent Arthur "Artie" Nielsen (née Arthur Weisfelt) is a fictional character on the U.S. television science fiction series Warehouse 13 (2009–2014), portrayed by Saul Rubinek. He is the Special Agent in Charge of Warehouse 13 and is the immediate supervisor of Agents Pete Lattimer, Myka Bering and Claudia Donovan.
Character history Artie Nielsen was born Arthur Weisfelt on July 2, 1948 and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has Russian Jewish heritage. His father, Izzy Weisfelt (Judd Hirsch), taught musical composition at Temple University. The young Artie was a gifted pianist and earned admission to the Juilliard School. Rather than continuing his musical training, he went to work for the National Security Agency (NSA). He stands 5 feet 8 inches tall, and in addition to English, he is fluent in Russian, German and French. He can also read Latin. As chief custodian of Warehouse 13, Artie understands many of its secrets.
As revealed in the season 1 episode "Implosion", the NSA recruited Artie right out of school. While in his 20s, he worked as a cryptographer and code breaker, decoding Soviet communications and intercepting letters and phone transcripts. He was suspected of selling secrets to the Soviets when he contacted one of the persons they were spying on. He was put under surveillance, and on November 18, 1978, an arrest warrant was issued for him on charges of espionage and treason.
In the season 2 episode "Vendetta", it is revealed that Artie was trading artifacts in exchange for the release of family members who are political prisoners in the Gulag. He believed the artifacts were nothing more than trinkets, antiques, and ancient relics. When his Soviet contact let slip the artifacts have power, Artie soon discovered they have frightening and dangerous powers. Unable to live with the guilt of what he had done, he turned himself in. This was the day Mrs. Frederic came into his life, offering him a chance to make amends for past mistakes. She had the charges expunged, and he was given a new identity, Arthur Nielsen. The change of name is not to hide from the U.S. government but from the Soviets, who consider him a spy who betrayed them. As Artie Nielsen, he joined the U.S. Secret Service and became a Warehouse agent.
In the season 1 episode "Claudia", we learn that 12 years earlier, Artie posed as a professor to get close to graduate student Joshua Donovan, to help him. At the same time, he attempted teleportation research using Rheticus' Compass – an artifact that it had been Artie's mission to retrieve. Unfortunately, he watched helplessly with Joshua's younger sister, Claudia Donovan, as Joshua disappeared, apparently killed in an experiment with the compass. This incident caused Artie much grief because he had pushed Joshua to continue the investigation and promised Claudia that he would do whatever he could to help keep him safe. Only later is it discovered that Joshua had trapped himself in an inter-dimensional space. Persuaded by Claudia and armed with new information about the compass, Artie reproduced the experiment and rescued Joshua.
Artie was once partnered with a fellow Warehouse agent James MacPherson, but they had a falling out, and MacPherson disappeared for about 15 years. Starting with the season 1 episode "Implosion", MacPherson returns as Artie’s nemesis – collecting and auctioning off artifacts to release them back into the world. In the season one finale, "MacPherson", MacPherson blows up the umbilicus with Artie still inside, presumably killing him. In the season 2 premiere, "Time Will Tell", we learn that Artie is saved by the Phoenix artifact and rises from the ashes. Soon after that, MacPherson is captured and killed.
In season 2's "Vendetta", Artie is the only one opposed to the reinstatement of H. G. Wells. He is vindicated in the season two finale, "Reset" when H.G. is revealed to be a villain.
As revealed in the season 3 finale, "Stand", when preparing for Sykes' attack on the Warehouse, Artie takes a watch that MacPherson gave to him, hoping that he would never have to use it. After the Warehouse is destroyed, Pete exclaims, "We lost, Artie. We lost." Artie reveals the watch and says, "Not yet."
In the season 4 premiere, "A New Hope", Artie discovers that Pandora's box was destroyed with the Warehouse and, as a result, the world has lost hope. Realizing that the watch can lead them to a fail-safe that can reset 24 hours, Artie, Claudia, Pete, and Myka set out to find the artifact. The fail-safe is revealed to be the astrolabe of Ferdinand Magellan. When Artie and Pete find the last piece of the Astrolabe, they are attacked by a Templar group with the astrolabe. Pete is killed and, while Artie prepares to use the astrolabe, the dying leader of the Templars says that by using the astrolabe, Artie will bring "a great evil of your own design upon you." Artie then uses the astrolabe, goes back in time, and prevents the Warehouse from being destroyed. As a result of his actions, H.G. Wells, Mrs. Frederic, and Pete are still alive. Artie later has a nightmare about Claudia attacking him with a dagger and, after waking up, he learns from Leena that Claudia left.
Artie is approached by Brother Adrian of the Templars, asking his assistance in finding the person who used the astrolabe, insisting that it must be used again to restore the timeline and prevent evil creation. When Adrian discovers that Artie was the astrolabe user, he threatens to destroy his life's work by stealing and unleashing artifacts from the Warehouse until Artie undoes what he has done. As Artie's behavior becomes more and more erratic, he is approached by Mrs. Frederic, Leena, and H. G. Wells and, in the episode "Second Chance", he reveals to them the story of the astrolabe and Brother Adrian. Because of his vision of Claudia and the dagger, Artie suggests the evil may be Claudia, but Mrs. Frederic points out that Adrian's actions make him the likely suspect. In the episode "The Ones You Love", Leena witnesses Artie during a supposed confrontation with Adrian and observes that he is alone and only imagining Adrian's presence. In reality, it is Artie who has been stealing and unleashing artifacts. When Leena confronts him with what she has witnessed, Artie is tormented as he tries to understand what is happening to him. Although warned by Mrs. Frederic to flee the Warehouse, Leena approaches Artie to help him. Artie, now taken over by an evil personality, turns on Leena and kills her.
In the episode "We All Fall Down", it is revealed that Artie's evil plan is to release a deadly disease, the English Sweating sickness, into the world. To do so, he must use the dagger from his vision to break open the container encasing the Chinese orchid from Warehouse 8. Although Pete, Myka, Claudia, and Steve try to retrieve the artifacts before he can get to them, Artie is successful. He unleashes the disease as the episode reaches its closing climax. Somehow knowing that the dagger will separate the true Artie from the evil residing inside him, Claudia picks it up and stabs him with it, thereby fulfilling Artie's vision.
The second half of Season 4, episode "The Living and the Dead", begins with Artie being air-lifted back to Warehouse 13. He has suffered no physical injury from the dagger, but he has retreated into his mind, not wanting to come out of his coma and face the memory and act of killing Leena. However, it is confirmed that the dagger has destroyed his dark persona. Jane Lattimer uses Sigmund Freud's desk clock to link Claudia and Steve with Artie's subconscious. Inside, they see that his mind is shutting down. Artie uses representations of Vanessa Calder and James MacPherson to get the pair out of his mind. Claudia eventually rescues Artie and brings him back from his coma while Pete and Myka manage to stop the evil Artie's plot with the orchid.
In "Parks and Rehabilitation", the Regents absolve Artie of any wrongdoing in Leena's death as the astrolabe was controlling him. Nonetheless, Artie is stricken by great grief and guilt over Leena's loss of life by his hand. He begins to take over Leena's chores and responsibilities back at the warehouse, initially refusing overtures from Myka and Steve to help. Eventually, they convince Artie that by pulling together and helping each other, they can accomplish the chores and get past the loss of Leena.
In "The Big Snag", Steve becomes concerned that Artie is acting recklessly and putting himself in danger, which he reports to Adwin Kosan. The Regents take action by assigning Dr. Abigail Cho to Warehouse 13, who is introduced to Artie by Mrs. Frederic in "The Sky's the Limit" as the new owner of Leena's B&B. Abigail is a psychotherapist whose fundamental mission is to help Artie deal with his grief over killing Leena. When Artie discovers this, he dismisses her with hostility; however, she keeps after him, explaining that it will consume him if he continues to deal with his grief alone. Artie eventually realizes he doesn't know how to deal with his loss and turns to Abigail for help.
Personality Artie is a secretive person. Because of all the people he has lost in his life, including agents, he shuts everyone out as a defense mechanism. He withholds information about himself and tends to give just enough information to agents for the mission at hand, without answering many of their questions. He obsesses about minutiae to the point of neurosis and has been known in the past to leap to conclusions based on precious little evidence beyond "gut" instinct. Artie frequently tries to protect the people with whom he's forged relationships, either by making them promises to do so (whether or not he can keep them) or by swearing to potential attackers that he won't allow harm to come to those about whom he cares. While not noticeably a religious man, he has studied the Talmud enough to at least be able to quote it.
Artie prefers old-fashioned items and ways of doing things because they are familiar and comfortable, not necessarily because he likes them better. In one instance, he finds an important document in his office card catalogue, exclaiming "Google, shmoogle, I’ll stick with paper." In the season 2 episode "13.1", he reluctantly allows a "Global Dynamics geek" to come to Warehouse 13 and upgrade the antiquated computer systems. Claudia describes to Douglas Fargo that Artie would have "vetoed fire if he'd been born a few years earlier." Nonetheless, Artie is generally adept at using modern technology when he must.
Skills and abilities Artie is a former code breaker for the NSA and is adept at noticing patterns and calculating probability. He has a high level of knowledge on various subjects, which makes him effective at his job. However, he seems to have trouble remembering dates (MacPherson and Mrs. Frederic correct him on a couple of occasions). His thirty-plus years as a Warehouse Agent have taught him the unpredictable nature of artifacts, causing him to proceed with caution in any situation.
With access to the Warehouse computer system, Artie has access to information from around the globe and shows expert computer hacking skills, obviously not better than Claudia's. However, he prefers not to use computers. He is also able to improvise gadgets out of household items; he made an electromagnet out of iron in "Merge With Caution" and used a broken windshield and his Tesla to overload Pete's ocular input in "Around the Bend". Artie is not opposed to using artifacts in his duties as a Warehouse Agent. Usually, he carries around a black kit bag, similar to what is commonly called a doctor's bag, with a random assortment of artifacts to be used in various situations.
While not confirmed, Artie is also a great deal stronger than he appears; several times in the series, he is shown knocking out an attacker in one punch.
Relationships