Regarded as one of the outstanding abstract painters of his generation, John McLean, who died in 2019, left a rich and substantial legacy of work stretching over several decades.

To understand, all you have to do is look. Everything only works in relation to everything else in the painting…Looking triggers imagination and association…I only work with the feelings I can elicit with drawing, colour and surface…Instinct and spontaneity are crucial. Thought goes into it too, in the same way it does in singing and dancing. —John McLean

John was mainly a self-taught painter. He studied at St Andrew’s University and went on to the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. Born in Liverpool but raised in Arbroath, most of his life was lived in London. He spent a brief spell in New York in the late 1980s as well as stints at Emma Lake, Saskatchewan. Read more about John’s work and achievements.

The estate of John McLean is managed by The Fine Art Society. Work listed on this website is for sale and is not comprehensive in its extent. Please contact The Fine Art Society with enquiries relating to sales, loans and copyright.