In the early 1960s, an artist from Chicago named Franklin McMahon traveled to Europe to document a story of interest to him: The rising trade alliance known as the European Common Market.
McMahon had already made a name for himself as a skilled “artist-reporter” drawing historic courtroom trials and civil rights protests in the U.S. His working method was unconventional in the world of illustration. Instead of drawing in the studio from written texts or briefs provided by art directors, McMahon preferred to work on location, making energetic line drawings of his subjects on the spot.
McMahon’s fascinating report about the European Common Market, which was published as a “portfolio of drawings” in Fortune magazine in 1962, is one of many visual essays that he self-initiated and sold to magazines. Over his long career, he also documented other significant events such as political conventions, the launch of NASA spacecraft and the Vatican Council II.
When he passed away at age 90 in 2012, The New York Times‘ obituary referred to him as the artist who “Drew the News” and “defied journalism’s preference for photographs to make a renowned career of drawing historic scenes in elegant, emphatic lines.”
Fast forward more than 60 years and few artists have been able to emulate McMahon’s extraordinary work as an artist-reporter. Will the current urban sketching boom inspire a new generation of artists to follow in his footsteps?
In this Artist Talk on Zoom coming up April 27 at 11 a.m. PDT, Deborah McMahon, the fourth of Franklin and Irene McMahon’s nine children, will join On the Spot editor Gabi Campanario to discuss the keys to McMahon’s success and the relevance of his graphic approach to news coverage in today’s media landscape.
On the Spot Artist Talks are free for Print+Digital subscribers ($29.99/year). If you are not a subscriber, you may purchase a $5 ticket to join the Zoom live and/or receive a link to the recording.
Deborah McMahon is an author, international speaker, teacher and artist. In 2021 she was the guest of USk Talks with urban sketchers Rob Sketcherman and Mário Linhares where she discussed her father’s work and lifelong husband-and-wife collaboration with her mother Irene, who was a travel writer. Following the talk, Deborah was encouraged to compile her parents’ stories and other examples of her father’s reportage in a self-published book titled The World is Your Studio.
To see Franklin McMahon’s drawings online, visit the Chicago History Museum, McMahon Gallery and FranklinMcMahon.net. McMahon also produced films featuring his work as an artist reporter. They can be viewed online at the Chicago Film Archives.
