Who illustrated C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia books?

Pauline Baynes illustrated C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia books.

Baynes was an English illustrator whose black-and-white drawings became closely associated with the original editions of Lewis’s seven Narnia novels. Her work helped establish the visual identity of characters and places such as Aslan, Lucy Pevensie, Cair Paravel, and the White Witch.

Lewis recommended Baynes to his publisher after seeing her work. She illustrated the Narnia books as they were published between 1950 and 1956, and her images continued to appear in later editions. She also illustrated books by J.R.R. Tolkien, including Farmer Giles of Ham and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.

Readers sometimes confuse Baynes with illustrators of other famous British children’s books, particularly Arthur Rackham or E.H. Shepard. Baynes was the illustrator specifically linked with the original Narnia series. Her drawings were not merely decorative: they gave readers an early, consistent visual guide to Lewis’s invented world.