The Harry and Margery Boswell Art Collection: Artworks

Will Maclean (born 1941)

(left to right, top to bottom) 'The Land', 'The Clearance', 'The Waiting' and 'The Departure' from The Tanera Suite

About 1994
Screenprints
HC2000.11(1)-(4)

Will Maclean was born in Inverness and much of his work concentrates on the history and mythology of the Highlands.   The subject of the Highland Clearances, and the enforced emigration of the Highland peoples, has been a source for many of his creative projects.   The Tanera Suite , consisting of four prints, is based on this theme.   Tanera is one of the Summer Isles on the West Coast of Scotland.

The work was inspired by the steel engravings of William Daniell in the book A Voyage Round Great Britain Undertaken Between the Years 1813 and 1823 by Richard Ayton and William Daniell.   Maclean was commissioned by the Peacock Printmakers, Aberdeen, to create an artwork associated with this classic text.    The image of the man in 'The Departure' comes from the painting Lochaber No More by John Watson Nicol, about 1884.

The Land

Will Maclean, The Land, about 1994.

The Clearance

Will Maclean, The Clearance, about 1994.

The Waiting

Will Maclean, The Waiting, about 1994.

The Departure

Will Maclean, The Departure, about 1994.