Tolkien as Artist
Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 5:28 am
Do any of you loremasters/Tolkien experts know if this White Tree drawing is by JRRT?
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Oh, that would be nice of you.Olorin wrote: Mon May 02, 2022 4:10 am I have that book, plus several other Tolkien art books, so if I get a chance, I’ll flip through them to see what’s in there. However, I don’t think that necessarily everything he ever drew has been released to the public in a book.
I'm a rather late arrival to Middle Earth. The first Tolkien book I read was The Hobbit sometime in the 1990's I think.Olorin wrote: Mon May 02, 2022 11:32 am OK, I just took a look and came up with nothing (which doesn't mean I couldn't have overlooked it).
I'm surprised that you, as someone who'll spend the extra bucks to get the UK edition of Tolkien books, hasn't acquired his art books. They are all very worth having, as they really enrich our picture of the man's talent, not to mention getting a glimpse of how he envisioned his creations. If you want to track them down (and some may be out of print but there are a number of ways to find out of print books), they are:
Pictures by JRR Tolkien
JRR Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator
The Art of the Lord of the Rings
The Art of the Hobbit
Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth
The last is not exclusively his artwork but also includes photos of him and family members. And obviously the 3rd and 4th books in my list are not to be confused with the movie tie-in concept art books.
I was a little surprised when I started looking for these books just now that there were five of them. Due to their varying sizes and the configuration of my library, I have them in several different places (and the shelf of the coffee table REALLY needs dusting).
Going off on a bit of tangent....Olorin wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 11:32 am I suppose I erroneously assumed that since we are somewhat close to the same age and I first visited Middle-earth as a relatively young person, you did as well. But it sounds like your own first encounter definitely worked out well for you.
I have mostly pleasant memories of high school, or at least more good than bad, and being introduced to Tolkien was one of them. LOTR was recommended to me by a favorite teacher. I read it during the summer of, I believe, 1977, and was utterly enthralled. Tolkien's writing is such that I felt like I was reading about something that really happened, in a real place. I'd never had that experience from a book before, and perhaps not since (though Anne Rice comes close).
If you can see the various art books through non-purchase means it will be good, as you can determine whether you want to get them before taking the plunge.
Did you see as a dust jacket, or did you just see it somewhere else, such as in one of the art books you listed?Olorin wrote: Thu May 05, 2022 2:06 am And of course as soon as you posted, I remember having seen that before. I don’t have that edition of the books, but I have seen it. I never really liked that cover, because it makes it look like a Christmas tree.