Ted Nasmith
Ted Nasmith is a Canadian artist, illustrator, and architectural renderer. He is known as one of the world's most prominent illustrators of J.R.R. Tolkien's works The Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit. He is a member of the Tolkien Society.
His art is featured on covers of numerous secondary Tolkienian literature, and in many official Tolkien Calendars by HarperCollins and, formerly, Ballantine Books.
Biography[]
Ted Nasmith was born in the mid-1950's in Goderich, Ontario, Canada. As the son of a Canadian Forces Air Command officer, Nasmith's early life was characterized by a series of moves as his father was re-stationed during his military career — sometimes within Canada, sometimes to other countries, such as France. By the time Nasmith became a teenager, they had settled in Toronto (currently, he resides in nearby Markham.)
Noting his early artistic abilities, Nasmith's family and friends encouraged him to enter a high school that featured a commercial art program, where he might hone his skills in various art subjects. In his third year of high school, however, Nasmith's sister introduced him to The Lord of the Rings, and it soon became a significant inspiration and focus in his life. Nasmith writes:
- "Discovering Tolkien, meanwhile, had a very profound effect on me and helped lead to much that I now count most significant in life. It opened up in me a dormant love of lost and misty times, myth and legend. Not since childhood had I felt such a sense of 'home', unaware of the effects the intervening years had had in displacing it. I began immediately to draw scenes inspired by this magical, nostalgic realm, becoming absorbed for many hours at a time."
- —Nasmith in 2002
In 1972, Nasmith mailed photographs of some of his paintings to J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien responded by letter a few weeks later, both praising the work and commenting that Ted's rendition of Bilbo Baggins seemed a little too childlike. Still a teenager at the time, this early feedback from Tolkien encouraged Nasmith to strive for a more literal interpretation of Tolkien's works (a feature which distinguishes Nasmith's work from other Tolkien illustrators to this day).
"Orthanc in the Second Age"
After graduation, Nasmith originally aspired to follow in the footsteps of automotive illustrator Art Fitzpatrick. However, since photography was replacing illustration in the business of car advertising, he instead found employment as an architectural renderer, showing a particular flair for the intense realism such illustrations demand. Although the architectural work was very successful and served as a good source of steady income, Nasmith's true love remained illustrating Tolkien's works.
Nasmith's Tolkien artwork, which echoes the luminist landscapes and Victorian neoclassical styles, eventually caught the attention of Tolkien's publishers, who included four of his paintings in the 1987 Tolkien Calendar. His artwork continued to appear in these beloved calendars over the years, including several where he is the sole featured artist (1990, 2002, 2003, 2004). In October 1996, Nasmith was asked by Tolkien's publishers to provide the artwork for the first-ever illustrated edition of The Silmarillion, during which time Ted developed a strong working relationship with Christopher Tolkien. The illustrated edition was first published in 1998, and, in 2004, a second edition (ISBN 0618391118) was published featuring many more paintings by Nasmith. Ten of his Middle-earth illustrations were included in Tolkien's World: Paintings of Middle-earth in 1992.
In early 1999, representatives for Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema invited Nasmith to join John Howe and Alan Lee in New Zealand to work on conceptual art for The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Unfortunately, Nasmith was in a personal crisis at the time (unrelated to his work) and reluctantly declined the offer.
In October 2020, an Illustrated Edition of Unfinished Tales was released by HarperCollins, featuring art by Nasmith, Lee, and Howe. Some of Nasmith's art was then featured on the cover of The Nature of Middle-earth, published by HarperCollins the next year.
Nasmith is regarded by some even as a Tolkien scholar, having studied religion and ancient history. His talent and knowledge has made him a sought-after guest speaker at Tolkien-related gatherings and conventions such as Oxonmoot, and he is a prominent member of several Tolkien-related organizations such as the Tolkien Society, the Mythopoeic Society, and Mensa's Beyond Bree.
Nasmith is also an accomplished guitarist and tenor. Much of his musical work is likewise inspired by Tolkien's writings, and he has a close friendship with the founders of The Tolkien Ensemble.
For HarperCollins' Tolkien Calendar 2023, Ted Nasmith introduced the six lesser known-artists whose work is featured, having frequently been the calendars' illustrator himself.
External links[]
- Ted Nasmith's official site
Ted Nasmith at Wikipedia- Interview on Nerd of the Rings, November 2022
- Interview on the Tolkien Experience Podcast, April 2022
