Alan Lee was born and raised in London, where he studied graphic art and design. Enchanted by myth and folklore from an early age, he gravitated toward the field of book illustration — following in the footsteps of Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac, master illustrators of the nineteenth century. Alan worked as an illustrator in London until the mid–1970s, when he moved to Dartmoor with fellow–artists Marja Lee Kruÿt (to whom he was married for many years) and Brian Froud. At the urging of Ian Ballantine (the legendary American publisher), Alan and Brian created the book Faeries, inspired by the Dartmoor countryside. It went on to become a bestseller, published to acclaim all around the world.

Since that time, Alan has established himself as one of England's preeminent book artists, creating exquisite watercolor paintings for, among other works, The Mabinogion, Castles, Merlin Dreams, and Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Illiad (winner of the prestigious Kate Greenaway Award), and for the lavish anniversary edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

For six years, however, book projects were set aside while he labored on the New Zealand set of Peter Jackson's film trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. As conceptual designer for the films, it is Alan's job to create the distinctive "look" of Middle Earth. A comparison of the films to Alan's prior illustrations for The Lord of the Rings gives a clear idea just how influential Alan's vision has been to the project and in 2004, he received a well–deserved Academy Award for his work. Since returning to Devon in September, 2004, Alan has been working on some of his own projects, as well as producing a new book, The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook which gives an insight into some of the working processes involved in both book illustration and designing for film. He is currently working on a re–telling, written by Adrian Mitchell, of Ovid's Metamorphoses.

When not working on film locations, Alan makes his home in Devon, England, where his studio takes up two floors of an old granite barn. His interests include myth and folklore, literature, poetry, music, archaeology, history, and long walks through Devon woodland. His son Owen and his daughter Virginia are also talented artists.