Milan Trenc / A world in images.
ILLUSTRATION · BOOKS · FILM · FINE ARTDRAG TO EXPLORE All selected work ↓
ILLUSTRATIONS HAVE APPEARED IN
The New York Times
The New Yorker
TIME
The Wall Street Journal
FEATURED / RETROSPECTIVEA world
A world
in retrospect.
The catalogue and a curated selection of exhibition panels. Explore the publications, stories and individual works behind Milan’s editorial illustration.
Explore the retrospective ↗01 — SELECTED WORKSelected works.
Selected works.
Across disciplines.
Illustration, books, cinema and exhibitions. Explore individual projects and their stories.
TIME
The New Yorker
The Wall Street Journal
The New York Times / Book Review
The New York Times / Week in Review
The Nation
Tvornička jutra
The Night at the Museum
While you were out…
Večernji list
The New York Times
The world, slightly sideways.
10,001 Monkeys
Ribanje i ribarsko prigovaranje
Samoća
Published covers
Berlin 1936
Desert Storm
Photographic collages
Line drawings
Small illustrations
Elephant Goes to Kindergarten
A Very Wet Night at the Museum
Maljčiki
Koščak
Milan Blenton
The Legend of Alfred J. Purfrock
Zen Stories
The Big Time
Start
BusinessWeek
“I was visiting the museum one afternoon, and when I came home, ideas just started coming.”Milan Trenc, speaking to Steven Heller
AIGA Voice · 23 January 2007 ↗
A BOOK. A FILM. A WORLDWIDE STORY.Before the movie,
Before the movie,
there was a drawing.
In 1993, Milan Trenc wrote and illustrated The Night at the Museum. A night watchman, a museum, and dinosaur skeletons with plans of their own. In 2006, that picture book became a Hollywood film.
Discover the book ↗02 — THE ARTISTMilan Trenc.
Milan Trenc.
In his own words.
“A true work of art is when you create something in this reality, but it is actually a kind of miracle.”Milan Trenc · Globus, 16 March 2023 · translated from Croatian ↗
Born in Zagreb in 1962, Milan Trenc works across illustration, comics, painting, animation, cinema and writing. He studied film directing at Zagreb’s Academy of Dramatic Arts.
From 1991 to 2004, New York was his base. His illustrations appeared in major American publications, while his stories found new lives in books and on screen. Today his practice continues in Zagreb, alongside his work as a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts.
Academic biography ↗1980sFirst lines. A distinctive voice.+
Comics and illustrations in Polet and Studentski list, followed by the role of chief illustrator at Start in 1985.
1991–2004The New York years.+
Editorial illustration for The New York Times, The New Yorker, Time and other publications. Recognition from Print in 1993 and the Society of Publication Designers in 2003.
1993 / 2006A museum comes to life.+
The Night at the Museum is published in 1993 and adapted for the cinema in 2006. Another Night at the Museum follows in 2013.
2020–2025New stories. New dimensions.+
The feature film Ribanje i ribarsko prigovaranje (2020), Factory Mornings at Lauba (2021), and an interactive presentation of Factory Mornings and Spirals at Spirit of Art (2025).
03 — JOURNAL & PRESSExhibitions.
Exhibitions.
Interviews & press.
Exhibitions, interviews and perspectives from the archive. Read the stories at their original sources.
EXHIBITION · 04 DEC 2025The American years,
The American years,
out in the city.
An outdoor selection of Trenc’s editorial illustrations in Zagreb, presented by ŠPUD. The exhibition ran through 29 January 2026.
VEČERNJI LIST ↗ART & TECHNOLOGY · 03 NOV 2025When the artwork
When the artwork
moves beyond the frame.
A critical look at augmented reality, animated graphics and the interactive Spirals presentation at Spirit of Art.
VEČERNJI LIST ↗INTERVIEW · 16 MAR 2023Art, imagination
Art, imagination
and artificial intelligence.
A conversation with Boris Vlašić about making art, illustration and the projects that connect them.
GLOBUS / JUTARNJI ↗FROM THE ARCHIVE · 23 JAN 2007The original
The original
Night at the Museum.
Steven Heller speaks with Trenc about the journey from an illustrated book to the cinema.
AIGA VOICE · PDF ↗Contact
Milan Trenc.
For illustration, exhibitions,
film and publishing enquiries.