Marie SANTRY-FORLI (1910-1989)

Marie Santry (Forli) was the central figure in both a family of artists (husband John Santry & son Michel Santry) and the famous Northwood Group sketch club, with core members including Lloyd Rees, Roland Wakelin, George Lawrence and Brett Whiteley. These weekly meetings for sketching and discussion also attracted musicians and artists including John Olsen, William Dobell, Arthur Murch and Michael Taylor. In the 1970s Lloyd Rees described this extraordinary woman as “Australia’s leading draftswoman”. (John Passmore, Museum of Art, 2008)