Washington-born artist Richard McLean was a leading figure in the Photorealist movement, a practice that aims to meticulously reproduce photography in painting. Within this genre, he is best known for his detailed paintings of horses and their riders at racetracks or country fairs in rural California.

McLean worked alongside artists like Chuck Close and Richard Estes but stayed true to his focal point: the Western aesthetic. While, originally, horses served as the primary subject matter of his scenes, over time the horses became incidental details, allowing the natural world to dominate the space. McLean has translated Kodachromes into painting, simultaneously pushing realism to its edges and questioning the thin line between mass media and fine art.