Franklin McMahon (1921 – 2012) was an artist-reporter whose work took him around the world for more than half a century.
His work can be found in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, the National Air and Space Museum (of the Smithsonian Institution), The University of Chicago, The Borg-Warner Corporation, Time Inc., Binghamton University, The New Britain Museum of American Art, George Washington University and many other well known locations.
McMahon won the Renaissance Prize of the Art Institute of Chicago. The Society of Illustrators elected him to its Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Artists Guild of New York chose him as “Artist of the Year” in 1963. His documentary films of several presidential campaigns earned him three Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award. He also received the Minority Economic Resources Corporation’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Civil Rights Achievement (2000), and honorary degrees from Loyola University Chicago (1985) and Lake Forest College(1979). He was a part of the guiding faculty of the Famous Artists School and served as a guest instructor at Syracuse University, Rhode Island School of Design and The Smithsonian Institution.
He could be acclaimed as Chicago’s ambassador to the rest of the world. His art says so many complementary things about the city of his birth: The energy, the excitement, the joy its citizens find in their work. The magnificent buildings, the music… even the beautiful lakefront takes on extra buoyancy and life under his gifted hand. A city could not ask for a more loving and flattering portrait and one created by Franklin McMahon.
This short biography only scratches the surface of this great artist’s accomplishments. For more in depth information, please visit Wikipedia, from which this information was obtained.
On Offer: The work on offer, “Burnham Harbor”, captures the very essence of Chicago. It is one of two original serigraphs from his collection, “MY CHICAGO:AN ARTIST’S TRIBUTE”. It was acquired at Merrill Chase Galleries during the time when we lived in Chicago, around 1978. (Dimensions to follow.)
From the Gallery: Franklin McMahon, The edition consists of:
300 impressions numbered 1/300 to 300/300
50 artist proofs numbered AP 1/50 AP 50/50.
15 HC proofs numbered in Roman numerals HC I/XV to HC XV/XV
All prints are hand signed by the artist. this is the only addition there are no prior additions this is neither a re-strike nor a posthumous edition. The screens have been destroyed. Printed by the Chicago Serigraph Workshop, Chicago Illinois in November 1978.