MacLean was born in Deptford, London in 1845. In around 1860 he left England to study in Paris and was apprenticed to the eminent sculptor, Carrier Belleuse, he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and became his studio assistant. He returned to London in 1870 escaping the Siege of Paris. MacLean became well known for his classically draped female figures and busts including ‘Ione’ which was exhibited at the RA in 1875. He was influenced by the high Victorian painters such as Albert Moore and Alma-Tadema. He was an important link between the classical style of sculpture and the New Sculpture movement as he was one of the only British sculptors to have been trained in Paris. Ione was also exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1877 and may well have influenced the early work of the sculptors Onslow-Ford and Thornycroft.