J.R.R. Tolkien

 

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.

 

J.R.R. Tolkien  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. In fact, his talent was far more than he admitted, and his sense of design was natural and keen.

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J.R.R Tolkien - The Hobbit illustrations

Maxfield Parrish

Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery.

His repertoire includes many prestigious projects, among which are Eugene Field's Poems of Childhood in 1904 (8 color plates) and The Arabian Nights in 1909 (12 color plates). Books illustrated by Parrish, in addition to those that include reproductions of Parrish's work—including A Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales in 1910 (10 color plates), The Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics in 1911 ( 8 color plates) and The Knave of Hearts in 1925 (with 23 color images)—are highly sought-after collectors' items.

Maxfield Parrish - The knave of hearts illustrations

 The Queen of Hearts

She made some tarts,

All on a summer's day;

The Knave of Hearts

He stole those tarts,

And took them clean away.

The King of Hearts

Called for the tarts,

And beat the knave full sore;

The Knave of Hearts

Brought back the tarts,

And vowed he'd steal no more.

Maxfield Parish - The Arabian Nights illustrations

King of the Black Isles by Maxfield Parrish

The young king was unable to restrain a tear

Maxfield Parrish - Poems of Childhood illustrations

Maxfield Parrish - Dream Days

Maxfield Parrish illustrations

Anemone

Harry Clarke - the Irish illustrator

 

Henry Patrick (Harry) Clarke (March 17, 1889 – January 6, 1931) was an Irish stained glass artist and book illustrator, born in Dublin.  Clarke's illustrated work is too unfairly compared to Beardsley, but it was as a stained glass designer and artisan that he devoted the most of his life.

 

Books illustrated: Andersen, Tales of Mystery and Imagination, The Year's at the Spring, Fairy Tales of Perrault, Faust, and Selected Poems of Algernon Charles Swinburne featured both pen and ink and pen and wash drawings and/or more advanced color work.

 

Ill-health plagued him for most of his life. He worked at a feverish pace creating glass and book illustrations. He died in early 1931 of tuberculosis, while trying to recuperate from his efforts. He was 41.

Harry Clarke - Tales of mistery and imagination illustrations

A tell-tale heart

 

Poe's stories have a unique haunting character, and with the aid of these pictures imagination will never fail to convey the description behind the words and the stories will stay thus forever imprinted in the mind. When Poe uses the word unnerve in his stories you can be sure it is not an understatement. He creates an atmosphere with  this word, a state of mind  felt through all bodily pores. Harry Clarke has followed this thread to a tooth in his drawings. One gets nervous only by looking at them.

Harry Clarke - illustrations for Andersen fairy tales

 

Harry Clarke - The Year's at the Spring illustrations

 

Harry Clarke - Fairy Tales of Perrault illustrations

 

Harry Clark - Faust illustrations