And then there were eight… Middle-earth March Madness 2025: The Art of Middle-earth Round Four voting is open now! And we have a GIVEAWAY for you to enter! And if that were not enough, we have livestreams today and Tuesday with very special guests! Read on to find out more…
The battles are getting closer; in Round Three, most victories were by a margin of less than 60%. The biggest conqueror was Matthew Stewart’s The Horn of Boromir, which took over 70% of the votes to defeat Michael Hague’s Rescued from Wolves. It seems people have a soft spot for art which echoes Peter Jackson’s movies.
In the Groups/Montages region, there was one match up which went right down to the wire. In the end, David Wenzel’s Gandalf at Your Service (from his The Hobbit graphic novel) beat Eric Velhagen’s Encounter at Amon Sûl. The charms of the Shire overcame the dynamic but violent battle with Ringwraiths – but by a margin of only 4% of the votes.
So now we are down to the final pairing in each of our four regions. This Elite Eight features some big names in the world of Tolkien art; and some with which you may not be so familiar. Which will go all the way, to become the Grand Champion of 2025? If you can predict that, you might be one of our lucky winners!
Thanks to our good friends at Warner Bros. we have copies of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim to giveaway. (What better way to celebrate the Art of Middle-earth than with this epic anime film?) During the Elite Eight round, you can enter to be in with a chance of winning, by guessing which of the remaining masterpieces you think will be the ultimate victor. Simply complete this form with your prediction; once Middle-earth March Madness is over, we’ll pick winners at random from those who successfully predicted the Grand Champion. (Sorry, this giveaway is only open to residents of the USA or Canada.)
Click here to enter the giveaway. Contest closes 11.59pm EST April 1st.
Then make sure to give your chosen winner the best chance, by VOTING!
How does it work, you ask? Simple! Click on the button below. This will take you to the voting site, where you can view the entire bracket, and also view individual works in all their glory (and details of the artist). Place your votes for Round Four: Elite Eight!
Staffer Madeye Gamgee shares his thoughts on the pieces in the Elite (or ‘Elegant’ or ‘Engaging’) Eight:
- In Landscapes, iconic Lord of the Rings scenes by incredible and well-know masters of their craft, Donato Giancola and Alan Lee. These two have emerged from possibly the strongest region, stacked with well-known artists and strong lesser know ones
- In Story Moments, a focus on tragedy and death, curiously, whether it’s Boromir’s last tragic stand and redemption, or one of the darkest days (literally) in the story of the Silmarils, a mixture of beauty and Elven genocide.
- -In Portraits, it’s light against dark in a battle of divine strength, with the fair (and powerful) River Daughter facing the specter of Morgoth, perhaps drawing inspiration from Luthien’s triumph in a similar artistic match
- In Groups, perhaps a surprising and much more peaceful pairing, and all Shire-centric, with David Wenzel’s familiar meeting between Gandalf and Bilbo up against, well, who are those hobbits fishing by the little Shire river? It seems like a wonderful spot to look for a more peaceful adventure!
You have until the end of the day Tuesday April 1st to vote in Round Four; on Wednesday 2nd the Final Four will begin! But first – please join us TODAY, Sunday 30th, for a very special livestream. 3pm PST/6pm EST Ted Nasmith will join us, to discuss his incredible The Kinslaying of Alqualondë, which features in the ‘Story Moments’ bracket. Then join us again on Tuesday 1st April, when artist Donato Giancola will be with us during TORn Tuesday to discuss his masterpiece The Walls of Moria. We hope you’ll be there to hear from both these fantastic artists, as you make decisions on the Elite Eight round. And don’t forget to VOTE!
