Wilson McLean (born 1937) is a Scottish illustrator and artist. He has illustrated primarily in the field of advertising, but has also provided cover art for music albums, sports magazines (including Sports Illustrated), a children's book, and other commercial endeavors. London Wilson McLean began his career in a London silkscreen studio at fifteen years of age and to date has won most major illustrator awards in the United States. Born in Scotland, he moved to London at the age of ten where he attended St. Martins and the Central School at night while working on the staff of magazines and design studios. This exposed him to the work of American illustrators as well as painters and convinced him that eventually he would go to America. Two years of national service stopped him painting for that period to time. He then went back to the design studios in Fleet Street for a few years doing little of interest, but working on his own drawings at night. Copenhagen At twenty-three, Wilson moved to Copenhagen and the beginning of 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 from The 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 the Upper 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, gradually he accomplished a breakthrough in 1973 with important work for Look Magazine, Sports Illustrated and Playboy. His diligence paid off and he worked for a wide variety of clients from advertising, movie posters, record covers,