Description
Richard McLean is one of the most highly regarded American photo-realists. His paintings look like photographs. Even when viewed from close range, their surfaces are so smooth that it is difficult to believe they were done by hand.
McLean introduces a unique psychological perspective into his works by showing the ordinarily animated racehorse in an unconventionally static pose. This choice heightens the viewer’s attention beyond reality to focus on detail, as the great Dutch masters did. McLean expresses great technical mastery to achieve images, which compel the viewer to look at a subject much deeper than the ordinary eye can see. Horses, a common subject of his art, are more than “horses”—they are of course, McLean’s detailed vision of them!