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Tolkien’s Watercolors

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Those in need of J. R. R. Tolkien–inspired imagery have a wealth of options at their fingertips. There are Tove Jansson’s illustrations for the Swedish translation of The Hobbit, adorably round, perfectly storybook, and vaguely Moomin-esque; Peter Jackson’s award-winning film trilogies, unapologetically epic and meticulously shot; and lo, in the darkest depths of the Mordor-like internet, enough Lord of the Rings–My Little Pony fan art to fill at least one wing of the Louvre. In the face of this hoard, indecision threatens. Perhaps it’s best to pare down and turn back to the source: Tolkien himself, who depicted a few key Middle-earth locales in lush watercolor. These illustrations are currently on display at the Morgan Library and Museum for “Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth” (on view through May 12), the most complete exhibition of Tolkien artifacts in decades; Bodleian Library Publishing has produced a book, Tolkien: Treasures, to accompany the show, which is sure to help us reengage with the fantasy master’s vision for a fully realized world: pure, unmediated, and enchanting as ever.

 

J. R. R. Tolkien, Bilbo Comes to the Huts of the Raft-Elves, 1937. Shelfmark: Bodleian Library, MS. Tolkien Drawings 29. Credit: © The Tolkien Estate Limited 1937.

 

J. R. R. Tolkien, Conversation with Smaug, 1937. Shelfmark: Bodleian Library, MS. Tolkien Drawings 30. Credit: © The Tolkien Estate Limited 1937. 

 

J. R. R. Tolkien, final design of The Hobbit dust jacket, 1937. Shelfmark: Bodleian Library, MS. Tolkien Drawings 32. Credit: © The Tolkien Estate Limited 1937

 

J. R. R. Tolkien, Halls of Manwe on the Mountains of the World above Faerie, 1928. Shelfmark: Bodleian Library, MS. Tolkien Drawings 89, fol. 13. Credit: © The Tolkien Trust 1973.

 

J. R. R. Tolkien, annotated map of Middle-earth. Shelfmark: Bodleian Library, MS. Tolkien Drawings 132. Credit: © Williams College Oxford Programme & The Tolkien Estate Ltd, 2018.

 

J. R. R. Tolkien, first letter from Father Christmas, 1920. Shelfmark: Bodleian Library, MS. Tolkien Drawings 38. Credit: © The Tolkien Estate Limited 1976.

 

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the Water, 1937. Shelfmark: Bodleian Library, MS. Tolkien Drawings 26. Credit: © The Tolkien Estate Limited 1937.