Allen Crawford

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Illustration of an octopus with its tentacles created an elaborate pattern

Illustration of a mandala made out of flowers and butterflies and leaves, with a skull at the center

Illustration of a red wolf, with calligraphed type in the background

Illustration of calligraphed text of Whitman's Song of Myself, with a twister running through the text

Decorative illustration of the tiger swallowtail butterfly

About Allen

Allen and his wife Susan Crawford have been illustrators for over 25 years. They’ve done advertising, merchandising, and editorial work, but in recent years they’ve been focused on natural history institutions like museums, gardens, and zoos.

Their most notable joint project to date is a set of 400 species identification key illustrations for the American Museum of Natural History in New York, which has been on permanent display in the famous Milstein Hall of Ocean Life for over twenty years.

Allen wrote, illustrated, and designed The Affected Provincial's Companion (Bloomsbury 2006), which was optioned for film four times by Johnny Depp's production company, Infinitum Nihil.

His second book, Whitman Illuminated: Song of Myself (Tin House 2014), is an illustrated edition of Walt Whitman's epic poem. The entire 256-page book was written by hand. It won numerous awards, including a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators, and "Best of Show" in 3x3’s International Show No.12.

His most recent book, A Wild Promise (Tin House 2023) is an illustrated celebration of the Endangered Species Act. Awards include the Type Directors Club 70 and the 3x3 Gold Cube Award.

Allen is currently seeking representation.

List of Clients

American Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian National Zoo, Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, Rosenbach Museum & Library, Tin House, National Constitution Center