THE WORLD IS YOUR STUDIO Travel Stories by Irene and Franklin McMahon is a illuminating retrospective of my parents quest to live the Impossible Dream.
Irene and Franklin McMahon were world travelers who became internationally known respectively for folksy travel articles and reportorial art.
I am Deborah, the fourth of nine children. This book is a collection of stories from my parent's travels. Over the years they were often accompanied by their children and grandchildren. As a travel reporter and from-life artist, Irene and Franklin were a unique team bringing the look and feel of a place to life through their work. Franklin did his drawings and paintings on site while Irene often wrote late at night when everyone else was in bed. Their work took them all over the world and they covered many important stories and historic events that have changed the world in our lifetime.
Irene received many awards for her work including several Mark Twain awards for her travel writing. Franklin McMahon's art has been collected by the Smithsonian, The Art Institute of Chicago, the National Air and Space Museum and The Library of Congress.
Collectively their work has been published in books, by many magazines like Look and Life, and in newspapers including The New York Times and Chicago Tribune.
Franklin McMahon was awarded a Peabody Award and three Emmys for producing films that were broadcast by PBS, WTTW and CBS, He received an Illinois State Treasure Award and was inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame, received a Martin Luther King Award for Civil Rights and was honored with a Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem Star. The diversity, complexity and honesty of his work lives up to the accolades.
As their daughter, I got a front row seat to their creative process. Franklin's work spans four decades and chronicles pivotal moments from U.S. politics to Civil rights to religious events. Irene's travel articles are written to give a unique look at first impressions and lasting experiences.
Together they were an incredible team who made it possible for myself and my siblings to have distinctive memories that few other children of that time period could have.
This book is a collection of those experiences, recorded in Irene's articles and illustrated by Franklin.
