My Friend Marvin

Marvin Franklin worked for 22 years underground on the subway tracks. While riding the train on his way home he would make sketches of life on the trains. Mr. Franklin died in April at the age of 55 after he was struck by a train in Brooklyn while working on the tracks. He left behind a wife, three children and thousands of works of art.

Displayed below are 10 images of Marvin Franklin's artwork.

The first drawing is a self portrait. All his sketches were done in a black Bic ballpoint pen. Most artists use charcoal, pencil, or a medium that allows for re-working. Marvin didn't need to re-work or erase- he rarely made mistakes.

The second image is of me, he did it in about 10 minutes. We were in the same painting class at the Art Student's league, and he sketched this while the model was taking a short break. Marvin filled an entire sketchbook of drawings per week, mostly images of homeless people riding the trains. He left hundreds of sketchbooks filled with drawings of the highest caliber. He was an artist's artist, a true pro.

Marvin not only worked full time for the MTA, to support his wife and 3 children, he went to the Art Student's league full time, volunteered 2 days a week at a homeless shelter, volunteered 1day a week at his church helping young kids, and taught art classes to teens in the Bronx. I will never understand why a person this talented had to make his living working on subway tracks. He had no gallery exposure or recognition of any kind.

Marvin was the most talented person I've ever know, as well as the most humble. He was a national treasure, he was a dear friend, he was my personal and artistic idol. He set the bar in every way. I will always miss him.

Below is a self-portrait Marvin did. To read more about his life, click here: