James McLean

MCLEAN, James Albert "Jimbo"

James Albert McLean was born in Gibsland, Louisiana in 1928, one of seven children of Rev. Charles Edward and Lucille Bowdon McLean. He was educated in the state's public schools and earned a B.A. in Education at University of Louisiana at Lafayette in1950. He earned a Bachelor of Divinity at S.M.U.'s Perkins School of Theology in 1953.

He married Ocelia Jo Perkins of Ontario, California in 1954. They had one son, Gregory S. McLean, a music professor and musician now living in Atlanta, GA.

After he served a number of appointments in the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church, he entered graduate school, earning a Master of Fine Arts degree from Tulane University in 1961. Jim joined the art faculty of LaGrange College (Georgia) in 1963 and was named chairperson of the department his second year. In 1966 he joined the faculty of the Georgia State University School of Art and Design, where he served as printmaking instructor until his retirement in 1994, as Professor Emeritus. Although his major field was printmaking, he also developed introductory courses in animation, both with early non-camera devices, as well as super 8 film technology. His prints were included in over 70 national and regional juried exhibitions, as well as the Brooklyn Museum's 1976-77 "30 Years of American Prints." He was one of 13 artists included in Artware'89, International Exhibition of Art and Electronics, Hanover, Germany. Over his career, he received twenty-two purchase awards. Jim's works are featured in the collections several major museums including the High Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Mint Museum and the Seattle Museum. Since his retirement in 1994, he illustrated over 14 books, in collaboration with Richard Lederer.

He was a member of the Dunwoody United Methodist Performing Arts program, appearing in such plays as Midsummer Night's Dream, You Can't Take It With You and others. Jim was passionate about music, art and his many nieces and nephews. He was generous and committed to many causes.

Mr. McLean is survived by his son, Greg (Jody) of Atlanta, GA; sister, Ruth Turner (Bob) of Dallas, TX; and his many beloved nieces and nephews.