Alan Lee celebrates his 67th birthday today. Born in 1947, Lee can look back at a successful career as one of the most known illustrator to visualize Tolkien’s works. After growing up with a passion for art, he eventually studied graphic art and design in London. In 1975 Lee moved to Dartmoor, England which became a great source of inspiration for his art.
At the age of 17, Lee discovered Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and was enchanted by it ever since:
“I had read The Lord of the Rings when I was about 17 and really just inhabited that world for a number of years afterwards. I just loved the whole world that he created and so it was a dream come true really to get the chance to illustrate the books later on.”
However, before making himself known as a Tolkien inspired artist, Lee was known for creating beautiful water colours for works such as The Mabinogion, Castles, Merlin Dreams, and Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Illiad. When The Lord of the Rings was reissued in a three volume set in 1987, Alan Lee provided the artwork for the dust jacket. Today, there are numerous editions of Tolkien’s work featuring Alan Lee’s artwork.
Source: tolkiengateway.net
For younger generations, Lee is most known for his contributions for the LOTR and The Hobbit trilogies. Together with John Howe, Lee was working on conceptual designs as well as on the visual effects department on designing effects shots. For Lee, working on the LOTR movie trilogy “was an extraordinary experience”. Together with Grant Major and Dan Hennah, Lee received in 2004 the Academy Award for Best Art Direction for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
The Middle-earth News Team is pleased to wish Alan Lee a very Happy Birthday!
