Mary Ann Elizabeth Crawford (1901 – December 19, 1988) was an American architect. Born in Illinois, she trained at the University of Illinois and the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. Crawford became recognized in her later life for the architectural drawings that she executed as a student, some of which are now in museum collections.

Early life

Mary Ann Crawford was born in

Girard, Illinois Girard is a city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,785 at the 2020 census, down from 2,103 in 2010. History Girard is named for Stephen Girard. When the village incorporated as a city, it became politically sepa ...

Education

She began her studies at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in 1919, but withdrew for health reasons. She transferred to the

, where she completed her B.A. studies in 1929 and received an M.A. in 1930.

Career

In the midst of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, Crawford found it challenging to find work as an architect. Crawford obtained her Illinois state architect's license in 1941 and her state engineer's license in 1943. In 1978, some of Crawford's student drawings were featured in the "Chicago Women Architects" exhibition at Artemisia Gallery in Chicago, Illinois. In 1980, her drawings were the focus of a solo exhibition titled "American Beaux-Arts" at the Frumkin-Struve Gallery in Chicago, Illinois. Her architectural drawings are held in the collection of

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum at the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 Smithsonian Institution museums and one of three Smithsonian facil ...

and the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

. Crawford died on December 19, 1988, in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Mary Ann 1901 births 1988 deaths American women architects 20th-century American women artists 20th-century American artists Architects from Illinois Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni People from Girard, Illinois University of Illinois alumni