Matthew Frey

Matthew Frey grew up in Phoenix, Maryland, where he destroyed every pair of shoes that his mother bought him tromping through the surrounding streams and lowlands in search of salamanders, crayfish, and other wild things of the… irresistible variety.

Indoors, Matt found vicarious adventure in natural history books borrowed from the local library. His love of illustration began in these quiet times, cultivated by the paintings and photos that graced the pages of those now-classic books.

After graduating from high school in Connecticut, Matt attended Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, where he earned a degree in illustration in 1996. Returning to familiar territory after graduation, Matt serendipitously found employment with Wood Ronsaville Harlin, Inc., a traditional illustration studio in Annapolis, Maryland, that specializes in, among other genres, natural history.

Today, Matt lives in West Virginia with his wife and four children. His boys share his past zeal for bringing home living proof of their adventures in untamed places, a source of eternal aggravation for their mother, but pride-barely concealed-in their father.

The wild still beckons to Matt, as well. Since 1998, he has trained and flown birds of prey in pursuit of their natural quarry as a licensed falconer. Today, he holds the station of Master Falconer; is an officer of the Potomac Falconers Association, the oldest falconry organization in the U.S.; and is a founding officer of the West Virginia Falconry Club.

Matt applies his creativity as both an illustrator and a graphic designer. His work has appeared in many of the publications and institutions that originally roused his love of illustration and visual communication, including National Geographic, Smithsonian, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of Natural History, and the Field Museum.

Given his particular affinity for birds of prey and avifauna in general, Matt took particular interest in illustrating Purple Martin Stamped Envelope, his first issuance for the U.S. Postal Service.