Wilson McLean

Wilson McLean(born 1937) is aScottishillustrator and artist. He has illustrated primarily in the field of advertising but has also provided cover art for music albums, sports magazines (includingSports Illustrated), a children's book, and other commercial endeavors.

London

Wilson McLean began his career in aLondonsilkscreen studio at fifteen years of age and, to date, has won most major illustrator awards in theUnited States.Born inScotland,he moved to London at age ten where he attendedSt. Martins and the Central Schoolat night while working on the staff of magazines and design studios. This exposed him to the work of American illustrators and painters and convinced him that he would eventually go to America. Two years of national service stopped him from painting for that period. He then went back to the design studios inFleet Streetfor a few years, doing little of interest but working on his drawings at night.

Copenhagen

At twenty-three, Wilson moved toCopenhagenand began a freelance career; he also married a Norwegian woman; after a year, they moved to Spain, then home to London, where he quickly established himself, working with publishing houses, advertising agencies and magazines.

New York City

He then decided the time was right for New York. 1965 was the year he came to New York for six weeks to try his luck. The first week, an agent took him on, and he got his first commission fromThe Saturday Evening Post,which he did in a borrowed studio; that was followed by three more magazine jobs, which he took back to London.

Returning in 1966 with wife and child, he moved to theUpper West Side,thinking this would continue as before, but although this was a very creative time in New York and there was no shortage of work in general, McLean experienced several lean years before gaining a reputation. He realized he did not yet have a signature style and point of view, and the competition was fierce, so after a couple of years or so experimenting with different mediums and observing more concept-oriented pictures, he gradually accomplished a breakthrough in 1973 with important work forLook Magazine,Sports IllustratedandPlayboy.

His diligence paid off, and he worked for various of clients from advertising, movie posters, record covers,Time Magazinecovers, book jackets, annual reports, etc. McLean's awards include several silver and gold medals at theArt Directors Club of New York,plus the prestigiousCliofor television commercials forEastern Airlines.He won nine silver and four gold medals over the years at theSociety of Illustratorsin NY and, in 1980, the Hamilton King Award for best in showand gold that same year at the Los Angeles Art Directors Show.

Marriage

In 1974, he met and later married Rosemary Howard, an ex-model turned photographer. They shared a loft/studio in theFlatiron DistrictofManhattanand split their time betweenSouthamptonand NYC. TheSociety of IllustratorsGallery in NYC gave him a one-man show in 1978, and a few years later, he went toZürichfor two summers running to work on lithographs ending in a show of work there in 1984. During the years, he has participated in group shows in New York and other parts of the country. He is represented at theNational Portrait Galleryat theSmithsonian InstitutioninWashington, D.C.,theNational Air and Space Museumin D.C., and theLondon Transport Museum’s permanent poster collection.In 1985, to commemorate European Music Year, theRoyal Mailcommissioned him to design and illustrate five stamps for a special edition of British composers, and he designed a set of four stamps for the US Mail illustrating the Broadway musicalOklahoma!around that same time.

McLean contributed to an exhibition and book for theUnited Nationsenvironmental program entitled Art for Survival.

A children's book calledIf The Earth.. were a few feet in diameterpublished by the Greenwich Workshop Press featuring eighteen paintings, is his only experience with that genre. In the year 2000, for the Millennium, the United Kingdom's postal service commissioned a stamp, one of a number produced by such people asDavid HockneyandEduardo Paolozzi.

Teaching

His teaching has includedSyracuse University,TheSchool of Visual Arts,guest workshops atSavannah College of Art and Design,Ringling College of Art and Designin Florida, and workshops throughout the United States.

Hudson, New York

In 2000 he and his wife moved toHudson, New Yorkfrom Long Island and Manhattan. Mclean now lives full-time in Hurley, NY

In 2007, McLean had a show of work at the John Davis Gallery in Hudson, New York. In 2009, there was a show of Italian landscapes at the Conrad L. Mallett Gallery inHartford, Connecticut.TheSociety of Illustratorsin 2010 inducted McLean into the Hall of Fame.In 2011, McLean designed and painted theEarth Dayposter, which theState Departmentin Washington, D.C. produces yearly. In 2011, he was interviewed for the National Endowment for the Arts Art Works blog.