Barbara Remington was commissioned to paint the artwork for the first Ballantine paperback editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Last year an interview with her conducted by N Marion Hage was published on Andwerve.com, but that site has since changed management and hands, and is not currently available online.

I tracked down the new publisher for Andwerve as well as Nate, and secured permission to reproduce the interview here. It is quite interesting to hear Barbara's take on the rush to get the Ballantine editions out, as well as her feeling towards Tolkien's books after having a chance to read them. The version of the interview published here is slightly updated from the original Andwerve version, as the interviewer is still in touch with Barbara and has provided some updates.

Connecting with History - Interview with Barbara Remington