JRR Tolkien art exhibition opens in New York #Art #STEAM #Tolkien

Beloved ‘Hobbit’ Author J.R.R. Tolkien Was an Artist Too. Now See His Fantastical Paintings and Endearing Children’s Illustrations in a New Show "Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth" is on view now at the Morgan Library & Museum.

Via artnet news, Sarah Cascone writes about the exhibit “Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth”, on view at the Morgan Library & Museum, 224 Madison Avenue, New York, January 25–May 12, 2019.

It’s hard to imagine a world without Harry Potter or Game of Thrones, but we might be living in it if it weren’t for J.R.R. Tolkien.. The author is widely credited with giving birth to the modern fantasy genre through his realm of Middle-earth, the setting for his best-selling books The Hobbit and its sequel trilogy The Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien’s creative genius, however, extends far beyond his capabilities as a story teller. He was also a talented artist and mapmaker who illustrated his own writings. (A trained linguist as well, Tolkien created Middle-earth to provide a history to go along with his invented languages of Elvish and Orcish.) Now, the author’s artistic prowess is on full display at New York’s Morgan Library & Museum in the new show “Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth.”

J.R.R. Tolkien, dust jacket for The Hobbit with the author’s notes.
J.R.R. Tolkien, dust jacket for The Hobbit with the author’s notes.

The exhibition, which originated at the UK’s Bodleian Library at Oxford University, features the largest selection of Tolkien-related materials ever displayed in the US. It includes childhood photographs of the author, who became an orphan at age 12, the final draft of the original dust jacket for The Hobbit, paintings of scenes from his books, and the original watercolors that became the cover art for the Ballantine-published box set of Lord of the Rings that came out between 1973 and 1980.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the Water, August 1937, watercolor, white body color, black ink. Bodleian Libraries, MS. Tolkien Drawings 26. © The Tolkien Estate Limited 1937.
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the Water (1937), which appears on the cover of the Ballantine Books edition of The Lord of the Ring: Fellowship of the Rings. Courtesy of the Bodleian Libraries

See the entire article for additional details and the museum website for exhibition details.

J.R.R. Tolkien, watercolor of an eagle. Courtesy of the Tolkien Estate.
J.R.R. Tolkien, watercolor of an eagle. Courtesy of the Tolkien Estate.

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