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J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator

Wayne G. Hammond,

Christina Scull

J.R.R. Tolkien (Illustrator)

4.13 · Rating details · 8,152 ratings · 35 reviews

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) renowned author of THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE SILMARILLION, was an artist in pictures as well as in words. Though he often remarked that he had no talent for drawing, his art has charmed his readers and has been exhibited to large and appreciative audiences the world over. In fact, his talent was far more than he admitted, and his ...more

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Paperback, 224 pages

Published October 18th 2000 by Mariner Books (first published January 1995)

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4.13 ·

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· 8,152 ratings · 35 reviews

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Dec 17, 2011 Julie rated it really liked it

Once I wrote a paper about Tolkien's art for a history of illustration class, and the TA came up to me and said in this sympathetic voice, "Oh, but he wasn't actually an artist." If only I had been holding this book at the time so I could shove it in her face.

PS: Later the professor read part of my paper to the class because it was just that good, haha.

PS #2: As regards the actual book, it's a great history of Tolkien's art, with a lot of lovely images. He was a better writer than artist, it's ...more

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Jun 30, 2013 Daniel Ionson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is not one of those compilations of pictures with some perfunctory text to pass off as a "book." The writers offer some great information and insights regarding JRRT as a visionary. I highly recommend this.

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Oct 26, 2018 Joshua rated it it was amazing

It feels like in our culture there is a need to divide artists solely into one camp. An artist cannot write, a writer cannot be a singer, a chef cannot also be a sculptor, and so on until the examples pile up. Yet this does artists disservice because it limits their capacity for expression one sole means, and as Wayne G. Hammond demonstrates in this book the mettle of an artist is made in the way they express themselves, not solely in the single format they traditionally do it.

J.R.R. Tolkien has It feels like in our culture there is a need to divide artists solely into one camp. An artist cannot write, a writer cannot be a singer, a chef cannot also be a sculptor, and so on until the examples pile up. Yet this does artists disservice because it limits their capacity for expression one sole means, and as Wayne G. Hammond demonstrates in this book the mettle of an artist is made in the way they express themselves, not solely in the single format they traditionally do it.

J.R.R. Tolkien has established a modern aesthetic and mythos through his writing, he's created his own language to accompany this universe, but what sometimes gets forgotten is that the man could also draw. This book was a eye opening experience because, through a careful study of his artwork over the course of his entire life, one can observe how his art served not only as a companion to his writing, but also as a kind of collaborative function. Whether it was his maps, his landscapes, or his interiors of the great halls, Tolkien managed to create Middle Earth as a functioning reality. Hammond shows his reader how each of Tolkien's drawings helped establish his aesthetic, but also how it contributed to the larger creation of Middle Earth and the accompanying mythos.

And just so it's clear, this is an art book dedicated to the art it's trying to bring attention to. Almost every page of this book contains work by Tolkien, accompanied with dates, bibliographic information, and accompanying analysis of the artists growing talent. This is a book dedicated to Tolkien's visual style and reveals that the man was not only a great writer, but also an accomplished artist who experimented with line, texture, color, and form over a long life of fruitful productivity.

Of course I'm biased. I love Lord of the Rings. But as a writer and as an artist, I appreciated the role this book had in further rekindling my love for Tolkien. This book is beautiful from the beginning to the very end and the reader would be foolish not to take the opportunity to read this work.

Mountains, Eagles, dragons, rivers, and even simple patterns are enough to be reminded that Tolkien was never just one thing. Like any true artist, the man contained multitudes. ...more

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Jul 24, 2017 Kathrin rated it really liked it

Shelves: sachbuch

This book has a wealth of beautiful drawings and paintings, accompanied by well-written analysis and background information. There's also sketches, patterns and doodles, anecdotes etc. I loved it.

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Jan 27, 2011 Erika rated it it was amazing

I came across this book in the Western Michigan University library in the process of my search for books on Tolkien's works. It caught my attention because while I considered Tolkien to be the best author of the twentieth century, I had had no idea that he was an artist. This book is filled with full color plates of Tolkien's original artwork, and each chapter focuses on different aspects of his style, influences, techniques, and areas of focus. I learned quite a bit about the things that Tolkie ...more

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May 11, 2018 Nidah (SleepDreamWrite) rated it liked it

This was really good.

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Jul 22, 2012 Allison rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: tolkien

Beautiful artwork/illustrations paired with insightful analysis. I enjoyed seeing the stages of his work, especially when compared with the stages of his tales and the additional insights found in his letters. Lovely. I don't typically seek out or enjoy books about artwork, but in this case it certainly added to my understanding and view of Middle Earth and allowed me to see Tolkien's other works. I gleamed from this that it is of utmost importance to see it as it comes to your mind,and I enjoy ...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Tommy Grooms rated it it was amazing

Fantastic collection of Tolkien's artwork. His writing deservedly gets the lion's share of praise and attention, but the man was not only immensely talented as an artist, but accomplished. Some of his artwork is absolutely gorgeous, and deserves a lot more attention both on its own merit and for its role in creating his written works.

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Jul 19, 2015 Marquise rated it really liked it

Shelves: artbooks, 4-5-stars

Lovely collection of Tolkien's artworks. I knew he'd done some drawings for his fantasy books, but didn't know that he had produced such a large body of paintings and drawings. And he's good at it, too.

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Feb 24, 2018 Laura rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, non-fiction, art

Gorgeous book, a must for any Tolkien fan wanting more insight into the Professor’s creations. My only niggle is the layout of the illustrations- many times the text discussing a painting was several pages away from the plate with the painting, necessitating much flipping around.

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Oct 11, 2016 Miranda rated it really liked it

Shelves: buy-that-s-read, non-fiction, read-in-2016

(4.5 stars)

I loved gaining this insight into Tolkien's illustrations and artwork--as well as their context. I'd love to own this book for future reference. Tolkien was one seriously talented man.

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Sep 08, 2018 Barron Dalton rated it it was amazing

Tolkien was a multi-talented artistic/linguistic master mind. This collection of his art work is truly excellent. These are seldom seen images of the visual concepts Tolkien had in mind. I found his work to be inspirational for my own art work. I have referenced this book many times.

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Nov 29, 2018 Jim rated it it was amazing

Beautiful, interesting, and indispensable.

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Jan 10, 2018 Tim rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

A very nice set of illustrations by Tolkien on many subjects. The accompanying comments are for the most part helpful.

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May 10, 2013 Jared Cook rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: art, fiction, fantasy

This was a fascinating look at another side of one of ym favorite authors (okay, fine, my favorite author). It is clear from Tolkien's other works that while he was a master of text, he always paid very close attention to images as well, which he considered to be an essential part of the story. From his maps, to the doors of Durin, to the Book of Mazarbul, the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings would just not be the same story without the images. The dust jackets that he designed are another examp This was a fascinating look at another side of one of ym favorite authors (okay, fine, my favorite author). It is clear from Tolkien's other works that while he was a master of text, he always paid very close attention to images as well, which he considered to be an essential part of the story. From his maps, to the doors of Durin, to the Book of Mazarbul, the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings would just not be the same story without the images. The dust jackets that he designed are another example (not to mention the facsimiles of runes and Feanorian script, which straddle the line between image and text, and have something interesting to say about the relationship between the two).

And he didn't just doodle, either. He used pen and ink, inkwash, watercolor, and "chalk" (colored pencil") and apparently spent a significant amount of time developing his talent, even though he never drew or painted as a professional.

One thing that I found fascinating was a vague similarity in style and in tone to another favorite author/artist, William Blake. While Tolkien never attempted to be an artist like Blake, it is clear that his pictures were an important part of his story, not wholly severable from the text. And it was clear that at least in some places, attempts to draw scenes or geography led to revisions in the text itself, illustrating the complex relationship between composition and illustration. Tolkien appears to have experimented slightly with various styles, but the predominating tone is one of a talented but self-taught amateur, with a penchant for stylized naturalism, brought to life by a rustic, studied but untaught hand with one foot firmly the art nouveau style and the other in the arts-and-crafts world. Similar to Blake's work, my reaction is a feeling that sometimes you are looking at a window into an untrammelled mind's imagination, sometimes at something like a medieval illuminated manuscript, sometimes a realistic and naturalistic snapshot of a scene, and sometimes at a battle plan by a soldier in the trenches. Most often it is a sense of preserving the imaginative freedom of childhood, but bringing it to life through talented and practiced, though unschooled and unashamed adult craftsmanship. It is almost as if the art itself reflects the author's attitude that fairy stories, though considered childish, deal with the very fiber of life, and demand to be taken seriously, at least as seriously as everyday life does.

The images are well-presented, many in full color, though I wished that they could have all been full-size. They are arranged first topically and second roughly chronologically Overall well worth looking through. ...more

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Jun 26, 2012 J.souza rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, arte

This book shows a side of Tolkien- the legendary writer of "The Lord Of The Rings" and other great books- that not many people, even amongst the die hard fans, know of: the artist.

The authors, Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull did an amazing research, making this book not only one of pictures but a kind of biography. The book contains- as it says in the back cover- 200 pieces of art made by Tolkien, with paintings, drawings and sketches, in colour and black and white, some of which became a e This book shows a side of Tolkien- the legendary writer of "The Lord Of The Rings" and other great books- that not many people, even amongst the die hard fans, know of: the artist.

The authors, Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull did an amazing research, making this book not only one of pictures but a kind of biography. The book contains- as it says in the back cover- 200 pieces of art made by Tolkien, with paintings, drawings and sketches, in colour and black and white, some of which became a extention of his writing.

The book is divided into 7 chapters: "Early Work", "Visions, Myths, and Legends", "Art For Children", "The Hobbit", "The Lord of The Rings", "Pattern and Devices" and "Appendix on Calligraphy".

In "Early Work" we see his firsts attempts on drawing. Here we have mostly landscapes and portraits of common people from his surroundings.

In "Visions, Myths, and Legends" we beguin to see the kind of imagery that would perpetuate the minds of the fans, like mages and beautiful lands with strange names- now very different from his early landscapes-.

"Art For Children" is basically from the christmas cards that he made to his children as "Father Christmas", with already a lot of imagination and mythology in it. Besides that we see sketches for "Roverandom", the book he wrote for one of his children when he lost his favourite toy.

Than we get to "Hobbit" and in here you'll see that much of the designs from the books as the aesthetic of the movies, were all from the mind of Tolkien. In here we have maps of Middle-Earth, the firsts sketches of Hobbiton- until it's final version in watercolour-, the landscape of Rivendell -home of the elves-, and a beautiful watercolour of the dragon Smaug, besides other things.

In "The Lord Of The Rings", as in the chapter "Hobbit" we see a lot of concept art that was later used in books and the movies. Including the many sketches for the design of the "Doors Of Durin", and bookcovers for each book of the trilogy.

In "Patterns and Devices" we see a lot of tapestry drawings and mandala-type designs that represents races and characters from his books.

And finally, in "Appendix on Calligraphy" we get to see some of his typographic studies and a hole text writen in his famous elvish lettering: Tengwar.

This is a must have for every big fan of Tolkien! You'll get to know him as a great artist besides a great writer. ...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Jaimie rated it really liked it

Even though the authors of this book claim to have only presented a collection of a mere few hundred of J.R.R. Tolkien's art works I think that they did a marvelous job showing the range and breadth of his skills and subjects. They focused less on the published pieces (presumably because we can see them elsewhere) than on preliminary sketches, pieces not related to specific Middle Earth writings, and ephemera, which really presented a good view of Tolkien's evolution as an artist. Much of his im ...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Michael rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: illustrated, fantasy, criticism, art, tolkien-2016-reading-challenge

Beautiful reproductions of Tolkien's artwork, from his earliest surviving works to his last. Although many of the images have been reproduced in a variety of other books, many more are presented for the first time (when originally published).

Tolkien was typically dismissive of his ability as an artist, and whilst he is sometimes correct in that self-evaluation, to the appreciative reader of his stories, to have the visual interpretations of these imagined worlds from the hand of the mind that fa ...more

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Jan 11, 2016 Julia Pillard rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I am of course very familiar with Tolkien's work as a writer, but had no idea that he had such talent as an artist. My fiance gave me this book for the holidays knowing that I had a deep appreciation for Tolkien's mythology. The authors explore Tolkien's work both in terms of his mythology and his life. His artistic expression includes not only images of his mythology but also impressions and illustrations from the different locations he visited and lived in. It is a wonderful book to explore To ...more

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Feb 28, 2016 Marilou added it

I am fascinated by Tolkien's watercolour artwork and it is well featured in this book. I learned a lot about his early works and his process of illustrating The Hobbit. The authors emphasize the fact that Tolkien was insecure about his own work. Some people criticized his illustrations of The Hobbit for being imperfect. This is what makes them interesting in my opinion. I was disappointed to learn that he stopped making watercolour artwork after this project. I wished to see more of it.

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Feb 05, 2008 captain america rated it really liked it · review of another edition

fuck all those hildebrandt paintings and other artists turning tolkien characters into trading cards and calendars. this is j.r.r.'s vision and has almost no people in it, as it should be, so you can use your own imagination.

too bad it wasn't possible to make the lord of the rings movie without showing any characters...

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Jan 03, 2016 Kyrie rated it liked it

Shelves: art

Meh.

I liked the drawings and doodles. Some were quite whimsical. Some I could imagine Tolkien sketching so he could remember where he wanted things to be in his tales.

Honestly, I got so bored by the accompanying text (and there's a lot more of it than pictures) that I quit reading and just looked at the art.

I probably missed a lot of tidbits of info and insights, but I'm happy despite that.

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Jan 06, 2015 Jane rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: All Tolkien's fan

Shelves: favorite-authors

I Love Tolkien's books and I think I know well that he was a very remarkable author/artist/calligrapher. Err...Wrong! I did not expect it to be so amazing. He was an excellent illustrator and designer.

J. R. R. Tolkien : Artist & Illustrator is everything it should be. A wonderful collection of Tolkien's artwork from early years to Silmarillion. It's so fascinating.

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Oct 24, 2011 Miss Clark rated it really liked it

Shelves: art, anglo-phile

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 06, 2015 Dhiraj Bharude rated it liked it

GOOD WORK BY J.R.R.TOLKIEN

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Dec 29, 2014 Jamie rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, owned

This semi-biographical book offers a glimpse into Tolkien's life and his creative mind, as well as interesting insights in the behind-the-scenes writing of his famous works.

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Jan 31, 2016 Nick rated it it was amazing

A great addition to the library for the complete Tolkien fan. Others won't see the point.

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Mar 19, 2013 Hamilton Johnson rated it it was amazing

This is a very cool book if you are at all interested in Tolkien's artwork. I was especially liked his illustrations for The Lord of the Rings, which I hadn't seen before.

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Nov 26, 2012 l. rated it really liked it

Shelves: british-lit, biographical, sff, art-etc, non-fiction, 2012

Hate people who cut out pages from library books.

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Oct 24, 2009 Sofia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: biography, tolkien, own-it

My first Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull book about Tolkien. It's fantastic. It shows Tolkien's range as an artist and not only as a writter.

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About Wayne G. Hammond

Wayne G. Hammond

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Wayne G. Hammond was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in the suburb of Brooklyn. In 1975 he received his Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors from Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio, where he majored in English. In 1976 he received his Master of Arts in Library Science degree from the School of Library Science of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and from that year has been Assistant Libr ...more