Tolkien's elves are supposed to be "perfect" in appearance, without any excessive features (and with ears that are "only slightly pointy"(c)) that other iterations and settings would introduce. The Tel-Quessir with their sharper, elongated faces and a little (or very, in case of the aquatic elves) webbed-ish ears, and their almond eyes would probably not recognize any kinship with them, and neither would the Eldar, the Mer, and the Pathfinder elves who, again, just are distressing to look at, honestly (and it's a little awkward how three out of a total of I think four elf-coded portraits in Kingmaker look nothing like the model, instead having normal proportions and not-bug-eyes).
His work may have been a huge inspiration for pretty much every high-fantasy setting that would come later, but it would be heavily vulgarized and misinterpreted either on purpose or because the author wouldn't read past the facade, like with elves and dwarves popularly hating each other (which they didn't really in Middle-Earth, the whole wood elf moment in the Hobbit is how they'd treat most hapless idiots who'd go through their woods uninvited), or halflings (the race Tolkien invented in the first place) being reckless, quirky, and naturally roguish rather than the mellow, stay-at-home types.
That's about enough of going on a tangent, I think.
