In a way, I grew up with Pauline Baynes.
She was one of the first artists whose work I was properly aware of, as I pored at length over her illustrations for C.S. Lewis’s Narnia Books.
A pair of poster-sized maps of Tolkien’s Middle Earth by Pauline decorated the wall of our front room, my dad’s music room, throughout my childhood.
Not my mum’s choice of decor, but my dad and I loved them.
However, glance at the images above and you can see why my love of her work is more than just nostalgia.
Pauline Baynes died in 2008. If you would like to read more about her life and work, this obituary by her friend Brian Sibley puts it so much better than I could.
I am sharing the Narnia books with my son. I think all children should have a little magic in their lives. Pauline Baynes’s illustrations continue to inspire and delight us as we read.
I like to think she would be happy to know that her magic lives on.
