Alan Lee
b. 1947
Alan Lee was born and raised in London, where he studied graphic art and design. Enchanted by myth and folklore from an early age, he gravitated toward the field of book illustration — following in the footsteps of Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, master illustrators of the nineteenth century. Alan worked as an illustrator in London until the mid-1970s, when he moved to Dartmoor with fellow-artists Marja Lee Kruyt (to whom he was married for many years) and Brian Froud. At the urging of Ian Ballantine (the legendary American publisher), Alan and Brian created the book Faeries, inspired by the Dartmoor countryside. It went on to become a bestseller, published to acclaim all around the world. Since that time, Alan has established himself as one of England's preeminent book artists, creating exquisite watercolor paintings for, among other works, The Mabinogion, Castles, Merlin Dreams, and Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Illiad (winner of the pretigious Kate Greenaway Award), and for the lavish anniversary edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. For the last few years, however, book projects have been set aside while he labors on the New Zealand set of Peter Jackson's film trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. As conceptual designer for the films, it is Alan's job to create the distinctive "look" of Middle Earth. A comparison of the films to Alan's prior illustrations for The Lord of the Rings gives a clear idea just how influential Alan's vision has been to the project. He has also designed for other films, including Legend, Erik the Viking, and Merlin. When not working on film locations, Alan still makes his home on Dartmoor in southwest England, where his studio takes up two floors of an ancient, rose-covered stone barn. In the same small village as mythic artists Brian & Wendy Froud, William Todd-Jones, Terri Windling, and others. He was one of the founders of the annual Mythic Garden exhibition of outdoor sculpture at the Stone Lane Gardens arboretum; and is involved in the creation of a woodland non denominational spiritual retreat building along with Diana Marriott and the internationally known local sculptor Peter Randall Page. His interests include myth and folklore, literature, poetry, music (particularly jazz, blues, and the singing of June Tabor), archaeology, history, international travel, and long walks through Devon woodland. He has two children, Virginia (also a sculptor) and Owen. Their mother, Marja, from the Netherlands, is a talented painter herself, as well as a Celtic harpist.
