Born in Washington, D.C., Maclain lived his winters between New York and Palm Beach, and made a long summer season in Nantucket at his home on New Mill Street. His early art training was received at the Maryland Institute of Art and John Hopkins University. For many summers he also experimented on his own at Provincetown and Rockport. He not only showed his work at the Kenneth Taylor Gallery but also, as an avid gardener, was largely responsible for the gallery’s memorial garden.