The Farmer's Wife depicts the narrative of a woman, the Farmer’s Wife, who leaves, or escapes, the family farm with a traveller.

The suite of works maps her emancipation and strength as a female character.

As the story unfolds, she becomes independent and assertive, shedding her submissive domiciled position as the wife of someone else.

McLean’s characters are crisply executed with sharp-edged features and chisel-like mannerisms.

His paintings are rich in motifs, with layers of meaning and interpretation, each work adding to the drama and development of the characters’ relationship.