Helen McLean
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Helen McLean | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1927 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | February 7, 2017 (aged 89–90) Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Author, painter |
| Known for | Details From a Larger Canvas |
Helen McLean (1927 – February 7, 2017) was a Canadian author and painter, known for her autobiographical Details From a Larger Canvas.
Helen McLean was born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1927.[1] As a teenager, in 1940, she studied under Dorothy Stevens at an art class arranged by the Women's Art Association.[2] She attended the University of Toronto, where she earned a B.A., and gained an M.A at the University of Calgary.
She married Ross McLean, and had three children.[3]
McLean became an artist, writer, art critic, and teacher.[1] She wrote two autobiographical books, Sketching from Memory: A Portrait of My Mother (1994) and Details from a Larger Canvas (2001).[3] Her second book describes her struggles against the expectations she had set for herself, or that had been set for a woman by her family or society.[4] Her 1998 novel Of all the Summers describes the experiences of a woman, Rachel, during different periods of her life. Rachel is now in mid-life and is rediscovering herself. The lyrical novel recalls her earlier relationships and work.[5]
McLean's 2003 novel Significant Things was short-listed for the 2004 Commonwealth Writers Prize Best Book Award, Caribbean and Canada Region.[6]
McLean died in Etobicoke, Ontario on February 7, 2017.[7][8]
