Rosetta McLean (neé McAleese), 1922–1999
Charcoal portrait of my mother Rose McLean, aged about 15, by artist Kate Stavniichuk, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Based on a photograph taken in 1937 at her cousin Annie Mary Shields’ wedding.
I commissioned this work a couple of years ago to commemorate my mother’s 100th birthday, which would have been today, 29th August 2022, when I am posting this for the first time.
Close family members have limited edition prints signed by the artist.
If anyone is looking for commisssioned work, Kate can be contacted via her website (https://www.katestavniichuk.com/).
Incidentally, Kate and her parents had to flee Ukraine last year and are now living in Canada.
Henry McLean
1916–1971
My late father, Henry McLean, would have been 100 years old in 2016. My surviving siblings and I got together at my house in Aultbea for the occasion, which was great fun.
I made this composite image at the time. The top panel is from our grandparents’ bible, where my grandfather recorded the names of their children. Note that he wrote my father’s name as “Henery”, which was the local pronunciation.
The 4 images of my dad were as follows:
Top left – age 13 approximately
Top Right – January 1940 (age 23)
Bottom Left – 1951 (age 35).
Bottom right – 1970 (age 53)
The bottom photo shows the 4 surviving McLeans (minus eldest brother Ian, who passed away in 2002). From left to right, in descending order of age: Redmond, Bob, Rosemary and Irwin (me). Taken at the viewpoint above Little Gruinard, a few miles from Aultbea, May 2016.
