1910–1990
Terence John Santry—often cited as John or T. J. Santry—was a distinctive figure in 20th-century Australian art: painter, illustrator, cartoonist, and teacher.
Born on December 19, 1910, in the working-class suburb of Pyrmont, Sydney, Santry discovered his artistic passion early. After leaving school, he worked in the art department of Paramount Pictures, which spurred him to study part-time at the Royal Art Society under Dattilo Rubbo and Sydney Long, and at East Sydney Technical College.
In the 1930s, Santry worked as a commercial artist and cartoonist for publications such as Truth, Labour Daily, the Daily Telegraph, and Australian Women’s Weekly. During a break spent in London (1937–39), he studied at Westminster School under Bernard Meninsky and Mark Gertler, sharing studio space with notable contemporaries, including William Dobell, Donald Friend, and Arthur Murch.
Returning to Australia before WWII, he rejoined Australian Consolidated Press but soon resumed freelance illustration while teaching at East Sydney Technical College. He also lectured in drawing at the University of Sydney and UNSW, mentoring architecture students alongside figures like Lloyd Rees and Roland Wakelin.
In the late 1940s, Santry co-founded the Northwood Group with Lloyd Rees and Roland Wakelin, painting post-impressionist landscapes around Sydney Harbour and the North Shore. His work combined realist figure studies—depictions of street life, working-class scenes, and greyhound trainers—with subtle impressionism.
Long overshadowed as “just an illustrator,” Santry gained broader attention through exhibitions later in life. In 1984, Sydney’s Hamer-Matthew Gallery hosted a major retrospective introduced by Joanna Mendelssohn, with Lloyd Rees praising Santry’s depiction of urban life as reminiscent of Courbet. A larger show followed in Melbourne in 1985.
Works by Santry are held in Australian institutions such as the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Queensland Art Gallery, and the Castlemaine Art Museum.
Santry passed away in Sydney on October 6, 1990, leaving a diverse legacy that crossed media, landscapes, and social commentary—and bridged everyday life with quiet artistic conviction.
