The Craswell Portrait Studio in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island was operated by Oliver Cleveland Craswell. Craswell was born 20 June 1892 the son of Lemuel H. Craswell and Harriet Saunders. He received his initial training in photography in the studios of James A. S. Bayer in Charlottetown where he was working as early as 1909. In 1912 he took photographs during the Governor General's visit to Charlottetown and later send hand-coloured copies to Princess Patricia. After working as an assistant accountant with the Charlottetown Steam Navigation Company he opened his own photography business sometime before 1924 on Great George Street in Charlottetown. By 1937 the business had been moved to the former Bayer studio at 163 Great George Street. Craswell was assisted in the operation of the studio by his wife. While primarily operating a portrait studio providing portrait and wedding photography Craswell also was a commercial photographer and had a sideline of hand-coloured Island views for tourist and display purposes. He was a member of the Photographic Society of America, the Professional Photographers of America, the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain and an Associate Member of the Toronto Guild for Color Photography. His work won salon honours at a number of international shows. Craswell died on 18 March 1966 and the business was discontinued although his nephew Gordon "Sam" Craswell continued photography into the 1980s.

Source: PEI Archives