Marian Leven RSA RSW, born 1944

Leven, who lives in Tayport, was born in Auchtermuchty, Fife, and studied at Gray’s School of Art. Her family heritage and her own training in textiles and weaving, as well as her passionate observation of Scottish geography and coastal lines, led her to a practice in painting that explores Scottish geography and climate, social history, and her own relative position in them, through the layering of rich textural and tonal planes. Gaining full recognition in the 1990s, she has been awarded prizes such as the Noble Grossart and Saltire Society Award, featured in collections and exhibitions around Scotland and collaborated with her husband, Will Maclean, in the creation of public art such as Waterlines at the University of Aberdeen or An Suileachan on the Isle of Lewis, while also working as an art teacher and lecturer.