Portrait of Anne McLaren
Date
2010
Sitter
Anne Laura Dorinthea McLaren (1927 - 2007, British) , Geneticist
Creator
Emma Wesley (1979, British) , Painter
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Dimensions
height (painting): 790mm
width (painting): 510mm
width (painting): 510mm
Subject
Content object
Description
Half-length posthumous portrait of Anne McLaren. The core image is after an existing but anonymous Cambridge University photograph and shows McLaren apparently seated, leaning with her left arm and hand on a shelf or chair back, and wearing a black jacket and red blouse. Pinned behind are several images informed by McLaren’s own artistic tastes. A chart of human embryonic development to the 56th day is flanked by two postcards: Adam and Eve (1528) by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) [Uffizi] and Portrait of a man of the Delves family (1577) [Walker Gallery, Liverpool]. In the foreground is a test-tube rack with three-test tubes and a white laboratory mouse. These are reminiscent of a well-known 1958 photograph taken by John Biggers at the time of his and McLaren’s announcement (via Nature) of the first successful mouse birth by embryos developed in vitro.
Anne McLaren was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1975.
Anne McLaren was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1975.
Object history
Commissioned by the Royal Society, 2010.
The idea of a posthumous portrait of Anne McLaren was first suggested in August 2009, championed by the Royal Society’s internal committee on equality and diversity. By September 2009 a shortlist of possible artists was drawn up and Emma Wesley was selected by the committee. The work was commissioned in March 2010, completed in 2010 and unveiled on 26 January 2011. [Details within e-mails and other material held within the Royal Society provenance file].
The idea of a posthumous portrait of Anne McLaren was first suggested in August 2009, championed by the Royal Society’s internal committee on equality and diversity. By September 2009 a shortlist of possible artists was drawn up and Emma Wesley was selected by the committee. The work was commissioned in March 2010, completed in 2010 and unveiled on 26 January 2011. [Details within e-mails and other material held within the Royal Society provenance file].
Associated place