WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., June 22, 2009 -- The Chapin Library at Williams College has received, through the college's Oxford Programme, an important bequest of paintings, drawings, and other materials by the distinguished British illustrator Pauline Baynes.

Baynes, who died in August 2008 at the age of 85, began her career in 1942 with illustrations for the "Perry Colour Books" for children. Before long, she was producing art for major London publishers. Over more than 60 years, she made thousands of drawings, most famously for works by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

"At the peak of her career, publishers lined up to hire Pauline Baynes as an illustrator and designer," said Wayne Hammond, Assistant Chapin Librarian. "She was known for fidelity to an author's text, for delicacy of line, and for a superb sense of color."

Baynes was often hired to illustrate stories with an element of fantasy, such as Andersen's fairy tales and the "Arabian Nights," and books with religious themes, but also history and geography books, nature books, and cookbooks.

To all of these, said Hammond, "she applied the same brilliant imagination she used when drawing Narnia or Middle-earth."

Able to work in a wide range of styles, she could evoke a medieval illuminated manuscript as easily as Persian miniatures, Greek vase paintings, or realistic plants and animals. But Baynes was especially known for the historical accuracy she brought to books such as "A Dictionary of Chivalry" by Grant Uden (1968), which won her the esteemed Kate Greenaway Medal, and "A Companion to World Mythology" by Richard Barber (1979).

As a young artist, Baynes studied at the Slade School of Art in Oxford. Afterwards, she joined the Second World War effort, making models for the Royal Engineer's camouflage unit at Farnham Castle in Surrey. Later, she drew maps and nautical charts for the Admiralty's hydrographics department in Bath.

In 1948, J.R.R. Tolkien discovered her work by chance, demanding that she illustrate his "Farmer Giles of Ham," a novella set in a fantastical Great Britain occupied by mythical creatures and medieval knights. So taken with her work, Tolkien once said that Baynes "reduced my text to a commentary on her drawings."

Baynes' wartime experience with drawing maps would serve her well when she drew maps of both Middle Earth and later Narnia. Tolkien had wanted Baynes to illustrate "The Lord of the Rings," but settled for her slipcase design for the three volumes, which were adapted as a cover for the first one-volume paperback edition.

The two became longtime friends. In fact, it was through Tolkien that Baynes began working with Lewis.

Hammond noted that although Baynes sold or gave away much of her original art for Lewis and Tolkien, hundreds of her illustrations for those and other authors survived in her archive, as well as printed versions in books and magazines, late "visionary" paintings, and unpublished work such as designs for Aesop's fables.

All of these will be organized and catalogued by the Chapin Library over the next few years. Williams has also received some 2,000 volumes comprising Baynes's working reference library and books illustrated by artists that inspired her, such as Edmund Dulac, Arthur Rackham, and Rex Whistler.

The Chapin Library is one of the leading special collections libraries among American colleges and universities. Opened in 1923, it collects rare books, manuscripts, prints, and other original source materials in support of the liberal arts education offered by Williams College. It is currently located in temporary quarters in the historic Southworth Schoolhouse at 96 School Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. For further details, phone 413-597-2462 or e-mail to whammond@williams.edu.

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Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
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