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Alan Lee

From Tolkien Gateway

'Who told you, and who sent you?' —Gandalf to Radagast

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'I shan't call it the end, till we've cleared up the mess,' said Sam.

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Alan Lee

Biographical information
Born	August 20, 1947
Style	Realistic/Romantic
Images	Gallery
Location	Dartmoor, Cornwall, UK

Alan Lee (1947) is a renowned British artist. He has illustrated numerous Tolkien Calendars as well as books. Lee and John Howe were the lead conceptual designers for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings.

1 Life
2 Vivendi's The Fellowship of the Ring
3 Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings
4 Published artwork
5 Awards
6 References
7 External Links

[edit] Life

Alan Lee was born in London, and attended the Ealing School of Art^[1]. At the advice of a friend, he read The Lord of the Rings when he was 17, and it greatly influenced his professional work. He had at that time never heard of J.R.R. Tolkien or The Hobbit^[2]. He moved to Dartmoor and married Marja Kruÿt. They have one daughter together, Virginia^[3].

Alan has suffered many deaths in his lifetime, including his father's when he was only 13 years of age.

In his paintings, Lee uses watercolour. He describes his style as a combination of Realistic and Romantic^[4].

[edit] Vivendi's The Fellowship of the Ring

Two pieces of artwork were used in the epilogue of this game; one with Frodo and Sam, and one with Gollum. He does not appear in the game's credits.

[edit] Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings

On November 13, 1997, New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson sent a parcel containing "Forgotten Silver" and "Heavenly Creatures", and a letter explaining an upcoming movie project, then still for Miramax. Jackson was greatly inspired by Lee, and wanted him to be part of the crew. Lee watched the movies, and phoned back 3,5 hours later to say yes^[5]. Three weeks later he flew to New Zealand, where he and John Howe joined the Weta Workshop. He would live in New Zealand for six years, before returning to Dartmoor^[6]. His daughter Virginia also worked on the movie; one of her contributions was woodwork for the throne of Théoden^[7]

Lee has two cameos in Peter Jackson's movies: he appears as the second from the right of the nine Kings of Men in The Fellowship of the Ring, and as a man of Rohan at the armoury of the Hornburg in The Two Towers.

Lee has expressed interest in working on The Hobbit, "[B]ut it would have to be a pretty special film to match the experience of working on The Lord of the Rings"^[8].