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Artist Paul McMahan stood before about 100 people gathered at the Masonic Lodge as the covering came off his latest watercolor, revealing Abbot Hall bathed in nighttime spotlights with its clock frozen at 10:10 p.m.
The Nov. 12 unveiling of “Abbot After Dark” marked the official debut of the Holiday Pops 2025 signature artwork, commissioned by the Marblehead Harbor Rotary as part of its annual fundraising initiative supporting scholarships and community programs.
“I’d like you to consider tonight a night of joy, of being able to ask someone as gifted as Paul to serve as our signature artist for Holiday Pops,” said rotarian Jessica Barnett, Holiday Pops 2025 general chairperson. “And when someone like this says yes, it is joyous.”
The painting emerged from an unexpected moment of inspiration. McMahan explained he had been asked to donate artwork for the fundraiser but initially hesitated. His decision changed after considering the organization’s commitment to the arts and his personal connection to live music.
When organizers requested something new rather than an existing piece, McMahan found himself unable to decline. The inspiration struck during an evening at the Marblehead Little Theater.
“I happened to be at an event here in town. It was Mystic Pizza at the Marblehead Little Theater, favorite of many folks in this room, and I came out, and it was 10 at night or so,” McMahan said. “And I walked by this building at 10:10 at night, leaving the theater, and said, why don’t I take some shots of it, and if I like what I see, I’ll do that as a painting.”
The resulting work captures Abbot Hall illuminated by spotlights, a compromise between the darkness of night and the vibrant colors requested by event organizers. McMahan noted the building’s nighttime illumination reflects Marblehead’s broader commitment to celebrating architecture and culture.
“At 10 o’clock at night, the town feels that this building is important enough to shine a spotlight on it and let it be a beacon,” he said. “And that actually goes a long way to what this town does, and that is that they really do shine a light on architecture, culture, the arts, music.”
Gene Arnould, a fellow Rotarian who provided framing for the artwork, introduced McMahan by highlighting his decades-long career as an architectural illustrator and educator. Arnould noted McMahan has taught at the college level for more than 30 years and worked on prestigious projects including the pyramid at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
“One of the things that I love about Paul’s work is the perspective he gets,” Arnould said. “It’s not just the straight-on view you’d see if you were standing back and looking at a building, but the perspective you get when you’re right in front of it and looking up. As you’ll see under this veiling — and there’s one over here of the old townhouse — he captures that feeling perfectly.”
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McMahan’s connection to Marblehead spans 15 years despite living 30 to 45 minutes away. He serves as a mainstay at the Marblehead Arts Association, where he has hung artwork for exhibitions for 15 years, and has created approximately 50 Marblehead paintings now displayed throughout the town.
His background includes studying architecture in New York and Europe before working for his Harvard professor, Paul Stevenson Oles, on projects for world-renowned architects. An intense professional development workshop at Harvard Graduate School of Design led to his hiring one week after the class ended.
McMahan emphasized his personal connection to the project.
“My father was musician who passed away when I was fairly young, and he played in orchestras,” he said. “So whenever I go to jazz, or whenever I go see the Pops, there’s a magic to me, in terms of my family and my lineage, to see live music performed.”
He noted the Rotary’s scholarship program particularly resonated with him as an educator who taught for more than 30 years at the university level.
McMahan also highlighted an unusual opportunity for attendees.
“There’s several people here in the audience that own my work, and for that, I’m appreciative, but you’ve also often paid full price for it,” he said. “And tonight, not here as a marketing ploy, but tonight for the price of a raffle ticket, you could go home with this painting. So buy early and often.”
Raffle tickets for the original painting, note cards featuring the artwork and tickets to the Dec. 13 Holiday Pops concert at Abbot Hall can be purchased online at RotaryClubofMheadHarbor.org. McMahan will draw the winning raffle ticket during intermission at the concert.
