The blog Today’s Inspiration this week posted a fascinating 1968 Famous Artists Magazine interview with artist-reporter Franklin McMahon who died last March. It is worth a read. McMahon was one of the greatest practitioners of visual journalism. He knew how to find a story and sell it to editors. As far as I know the only trial he covered was the 1955 trial for the murder of Emmett Till. The images posted here are from that trial.
This is McMahon’s sketch of Till’s uncle, Mose Wright, pointing to one of the defendants in the courtroom.
And this is the same moment serruptitiously captured from a different angle by photographer Ernest Withers.
Courtroom sketching is a form of visual journalism or reportage drawing that is slowly dying out. Where once upon a time news organization each had their own artist covering a story, today a “pool” artist often sketches for all. It is a demanding and stressful discipline where the drawing is often done directly and under tight deadline.
After forty-five years of news sketching in courtrooms and congress I’m calling it quits. It’s been sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating, almost always interesting. I’ve been lucky to work with some really great people. Don’t think I’ll miss it, but a little scared of not having a deadline.
While I won’t be sketching in court anymore, I may continue to post to this blog from time to time. Not sure what that might be. I’m about to start a new assignment documenting infrastructure and construction. Could be interesting.
I adore your blog! Thanks for posting such inspiring work. Keep it up :)
My grandfather also covered the Nuremberg trails, Jimmy Hoffa’s trail, the Chicago 7 conspiracy trail, and the Watergate hearings.
Here is a link to a film he did about the Chicago 7 trial for PBS
http://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/collections/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/16309
There are few more films that can be accessed in the below link.
I think there are some comments about the Emmett Till trial in the “artist as a reporter” film
http://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/collections/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/26
There used to be a few thousand images up in Corbis.com but sadly I think they aren’t there any longer.
Thank you for those links, Drew. You’re grandfather was a great artist/journalist whose work is a source of inspiration to me and many others.
I have one of your grandfather’s serigraphs of Marina City. I spoke to your father (?) about it a few years ago. I tracked him down to his studio in (Palentine?) I’m from Chicago but currently live in Vermont and it hangs on the wall of my dining room is I call “my Chicago room”.