A Middle-Earth Album

by Joan Wyatt (Illustrator)

Book by Joan wyatt

Genres: Fantasy, Art

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Joan Wyatt trained at Hastings Art School and the Slade, and thereafter had a career as a display artist. She lived abroad as a Foreign Office wife, thereafter returning to spend more time on painting. (Refers to the artist of A Middle-Earth Album)

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wyatt's depictions of the landscape and architecture of Tolkien's Middle-earth are really very good: by turns ethereal and otherworldly, then dark, brooding and menacing. Her figures, on the other hand, are either charmingly naïve or clunky and amateurish, depending on your point of view. I incline towards the former, remembering Tolkien's own limitations as an artist of the human (and non-human) form.

Whenever I re-read The Lord of the Rings, I keep this album nearby and refer to the illustrations at the appropriate point in the text to lend a bit of atmosphere and to compare the image in my mind's eye with that of Ms Wyatt's paintings. Given that she has paid close attention to Tolkien's descriptions, it is always interesting to note the differences from my visualisations that the same words can weave in another person's imagination.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had this book since it came out in 1979. I just found it and read it again after having a LOTR marathon. I have read this many times actually. Beautiful paintings, interesting to see her vision before the movies happened.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such beautiful illustrations and so lovely to revisit the story. It’s a testament to Tolkien’s descriptive powers that there are so many similarities between the paintings and the characters and set pieces in the films.

[Mercedes McLean-Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the artwork in here, and it serves as an interesting reminder of the gist of the story. I appreciate how the artist makes the landscapes the focus of most of the pictures. However, the artist maybe could have made some of the more monstrous elements less goofy. (Shelob, the Balrog, and the Ents are *not* strong points here haha).

[Kevin Hull · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best Tolkien-inspired art, but still enjoyable.