Heraldic Artist Spotlight: Allen Crawford

The arms of Allen Crawford, designed and emblazoned by himself.
Image is from Allen Crawford - American Heraldry Facebook page, September 21, 2023.

For the fifth installment of the Heraldic Artist Spotlight series, I am pleased to share the work of Mr. Allen Crawford.  To read posts on the other heraldic artists featured in this series, click the blog tag "Heraldic Artist Series" at the end of this post.  

Crawford wears many, many hats:  an acclaimed artist, illustrator, designer, writer, conservationist, and historian for Clan Crawford.  What's funny, at least to me and Crawford, is that we both have admired each other's arms for some time.  Through various heraldry social media platforms, I remember well catching glimpses of both the cornus florida and cardinalis cardinalis in his armorial achievement, and thought this guy has good taste and style.

The arms of the CCA granted by
the Court of Lord Lyon in 2012,
and emblazoned by Allen Crawford. 
Image is from Allen Crawford
 American Heraldry Facebook page,
September 21, 2023.

For his heraldic work, Crawford's major project focuses on the heraldry of Clan Crawford through the Clan Crawford Association (CCA).  

In 2018, Crawford presented a paper, "The Clan Crawford Association Armorial: An Independent Armorial for the Scottish Diaspora," during the Heraldry Society's Biennial Congress held at the University of Winchester in England.  Crawford opened his presentation with these astute observations concerning heraldry in the US:

"...the peculiar conditions of the United States forbid a blind following of the heraldic laws of any one country, and the bearing of arms here can only be governed by a general knowledge of heraldry, an appreciation of circumstances, and the exercise of good judgment and good taste in the treatment of each individual case" (Crawford, 2018, 25).   

I could not agree more with Crawford on this point.  

Through CCA, Crawford himself has organized a rather impressive project, an armorial with the intention to provide both design work and registration of arms for CCA members who either live in countries without an heraldic authority or otherwise unable to secure a grant of arms.  This admirable project is a great way to not only educate future CCA armingers, but also ensures design consistency in accordance with the customs of heraldry. 

Several emblazonments by Crawford appearing in Crawford (2018), page 6. 
Click image to enlarge.

Recently, I commissioned Crawford to render my arms in his Scottish style and am absolutely thrilled with the final product.

The arms of Chad M. Krouse emblazoned by Allen Crawford, September 2023.

The crest of Chad M. Krouse emblazoned by Allen Crawford, September 2023.

The arms of Chad M. Krouse emblazoned by Allen Crawford, September 2023.

I will say this, Crawford's rendering of the cardinal in my crest is now my all-time favorite.  I asked him to make the bird as ferociously as possible--he simply nailed it.  I really like the detailing of the cornus florida, as Crawford's version is quite striking and has the power of identification when see from a distance.

Please click here to see Crawford's design website, his portfolio containing loads of his work, and his contact information.  It has been a delight working with Crawford--we're armorial brothers in a sense with our dogwood flowers and cardinals held in common.  I highly recommend Crawford's work to anyone seeking emblazonments in his Scottish style.

Works Cited

Crawford, A. (2018).  The Crawfords are coming: Creating an enduring armorial for the Scottish diaspora. In The Society of Heraldic Arts (Ed.), The Heraldic Craftsman, number 100, pp. 25-27.