Before Peter Jackson, There Were the Hildebrandts - And Their Lord of the Rings Art Is Wild

I'm honestly a little embarrassed to admit this, but until recently, I had only seen one of these Hildebrandt Brothers paintings—the iconic Tom Bombadil one. Now that I've seen the full collection? I'm completely obsessed. I can't stop staring at them. Each one feels like stepping into a dream version of Middle-earth, the kind that lives in the back of your mind after a really good bedtime reading.

We're all so used to Peter Jackson's take on Tolkien's world that it's easy to forget there were other interpretations before the movies took over our brains. But these illustrations? These are something else entirely. They're bold, colorful, and slightly surreal—like Middle-earth by way of a fantasy-fueled fever dream.

Greg and Tim Hildebrandt created these pieces back in the 1970s for a series of official Lord of the Rings calendars, and you can feel how much love and imagination they poured into each one. There's a real sense of wonder in every brushstroke, and seeing them now is like getting to re-read the books with fresh eyes.

Here are 39 of their most stunning Tolkien illustrations—each one is pure magic.

Author image for John Summers John Summers
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