Located on Kelly Street in Greenock (Inverclyde Council Area), the McLean Museum and Art Gallery displays exhibits highlighting local history, and in particular the shipbuilding, engineering, rope-making industries which made Greenock famous. An Ancient Egyptian collection came to the museum through the work of the Egypt Exploration Society from 1880-1914. A 'World Cultures' collection includes a diverse range of items donated by the like of ship's captains, colonial officials and merchants. The natural history collection includes rare or extinct species such as the Passenger Pigeon, together with the collection of the wealthy local ship-builder Robert Lyons Scott (1871 - 1939) who hunted and collected specimens of animals, birds and fish while travelling the world and gave these to the museum in the 1920s and 1930s. Models of 19th Century ships and Chinese ivory ship models are also held, and there is a room dedicated to James Watt (1736 - 1819).
The art collection includes a considerable number of portraits of local interest displayed alongside bequests, most notably from Greenock merchant Peter H. Mackellar (1872 - 1911) and ship-owner Stuart A. Caird (d.1917). The collection has been augmented through the purchase of 20th century works. The McLean also holds a substantial collection of historic photographs of local interest.
