Mary Nolan (artist)
Lady Mary Elizabeth Nolan was an Australian ceramicist, painter and photographer. She is remembered for her marriage to Sidney Nolan and her work preserving his work and estate.
Biography
Early life and first marriage
Mary Nolan was born in 1926 to father Merric Boyd, a potter, and mother Dorris Boyd, a painter. Her maternal grandmother, 'Granny Gough', was a women's rights campaigner. Her paternal grandmother was the painter Emma Minnie Boyd, who exhibited alongside artists such as Arthur Streeton and Tom Roberts. The Boyd family were known for their connection to the arts, and her siblings, Lucy, Arthur, Guy and David, all went on to become artists. Mary grew up at the Boyds' "Open Country" home in Murrumbeena, then a rural suburb on the outskirts of Melbourne. From an early age, Mary was taught painting and potting, though her formal education ended at age 14 when she left school.Growing up in the Murrumbeena circle of artists, Mary was the contemporary of artists such as Albert Tucker, Sidney Nolan, and Danila Vassilieff. One of her most well known works, Hands, was influenced by the war years in Australia, and was created when she was only sixteen years old.
In 1944, the 18-year-old Mary married painter John Perceval, with Sidney Nolan as a witness. The marriage produced four children and saw her eventually depart from painting and ceramics. In the 1950s, Perceval produced studio pottery to earn money, and had started to gain critical attention as a painter. At this time, Mary began a friendship with John and Sunday Reed. In 1963 the family moved to London, settling in Highgate, and became part of a group of Australian artists living in the city. The family moved back to Australia in 1965 where Perceval undertook a fellowship at Canberra's Australian National University. The couple's relationship suffered due to Perceval's alcoholism and psychiatric issues, and their marriage ended in the early 1970s.