Who illustrated the original editions of C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia?

Pauline Baynes illustrated the original editions of C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia.

Baynes was an English illustrator whose black-and-white drawings became closely associated with Lewis’s seven Narnia books. Her illustrations appeared in the original British editions and helped readers picture characters, creatures, landscapes, and scenes from the series.

She was recommended to Lewis by his friend J.R.R. Tolkien, for whom she had illustrated The Hobbit and later works. Baynes continued working with Lewis’s Narnia texts across the series, making her artistic contribution part of the books’ early publishing history.

Readers sometimes confuse original illustrators with later artists who created new covers, color editions, or adaptations. Baynes’s role specifically concerns the original book illustrations, not the actors, designers, or artists involved in film versions.