William McLaren: An Artist Out of Time (2010)

This film is the first to document the life and work of the Scottish painter, illustrator and decorative artist, William McLaren. From humble beginnings in the 1920s in Cardenden, a mining town in Fife, McLaren went on to produce work in some of the finest houses in the UK. His illustrations appeared regularly in the 1950s and 1960s in the BBC's Radio Times. He became a prolific book illustrator and designer of dust jackets for over 150 books. In 1966 a commission to create a series of paintings for Hopetoun House near Edinburgh was the breakthrough for McLaren, leading to decorative commissions in private houses and public buildings where he developed his trompe l'oeil style. The filmmakers have traced hundreds of works by McLaren and many of these are included in this documentary, together with testimony from those who knew him. He died in 1987, aged 64, leaving behind a range of work that will surprise and delight many people.