“J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript,” an exhibition of manuscripts from the celebrated author and artist J.R.R. Tolkien, best known for his literary classics “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings,” opens Friday, Aug. 19, and runs through Friday, Dec. 23, at the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University, 1234 W. Tory Hill St.
Tickets are on sale now. Friends of the Haggerty Museum of Art members, K-12 educators, children aged 17 and under, and Marquette University students, faculty members, and staff members are free with advance reservations and a valid I.D. Tickets cost $10 for general admission and $8 for senior citizens and active members of the U.S. Military. A lecture series and additional programming was announced in May. All lectures and programs are free of charge.
The Haggerty Museum of Art and Raynor Memorial Libraries at Marquette are partnering to present “J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript,” the foundation of which will be Marquette’s extensive collection of Tolkien manuscripts housed within the library’s Department of Special Collections and University Archives. The exhibition will also include items borrowed from other repositories, including a significant number of Tolkien manuscripts and artwork from the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford.
The exhibition will include 147 items, many that have not been previously exhibited or published. The co-curators are Dr. William Fliss, curator of the J.R.R. Tolkien Collection in Marquette’s Department of Special Collections and University Archives, and Dr. Sarah Schaefer, assistant professor of art history at UWM.
The collection of work by J.R.R. Tolkien housed at Raynor Libraries includes the original manuscripts and multiple working drafts for three of the author’s most celebrated books, “The Hobbit,” “The Lord of the Rings” and “Farmer Giles of Ham,” as well as the original copy of the children’s book “Mr. Bliss.” The collection also includes books by and about Tolkien, periodicals produced by Tolkien enthusiasts, audio and video recordings, and a host of published and unpublished materials relating to Tolkien’s life, fantasy writings and the fandom that sprang up around his collected writings on Middle-earth.
The Haggerty Museum of Art connects people—on campus, in the community, and around the world—to art, to ideas and to one another. Through inclusive programming, the museum uses the interdisciplinary lens of art to cultivate knowledge, insight, understanding and belonging, all in service of Marquette University’s commitment to the Jesuit tenet of cura personalis—care for the whole person.
The Raynor Memorial Libraries provide access not only to vast collections of recorded knowledge but also to services, expertise, technology and collaborative spaces in support of the university’s teaching, research and service mission.
