Paintings by Vic Romano Italian Prisoner of War

Artwork

These small paintings tell a story of resilience, resourcefulness and longing for home. The artist was Vic Romano, an Italian POW, one of two hundred who lived at what was once Group Settlement 147 from December 1945 to May 1946. A long way from home, Romano created his own little bit of Italy by painting scenes he remembered. The plywood panel he painted on was from the side of tea chests and he made the paint brushes from hair, fibres and twigs he could find. The pigments were made from white, yellow and pink clay dug from the ground, and the juice of gum leaves, mixed with a mineral oil or white paint base. Not content with just making his own paints and brushes to paint these scenes, Romano finished off the artworks with frames he made from jarrah weatherboards.

Available at:

Northcliffe Pioneer Museum

Northcliffe is known as the town which refused to die. In 1924, 2,000 parents and children came to the forests of Northcliffe under the Group Settlement Scheme. The conditions were so difficult that...

Address:

Wheatly Coast Road
Opposite the Post Office
Northcliffe WA 6262
Australia

Open Hours

7 days 10am - 3pm

More from the Northcliffe Pioneer Museum

Imagine the terrible injuries experienced by timber cutters, the illnesses that would spread through a Group Settlement, the snake bites and burns, let alone the many deliveries of babies in wooden...

The CWA existed to help women in isolated rural communities, and to provide a voice to the Government to seek solutions to the difficulties facing families, particularly those in rural areas. The...

While you're in the area

Filter
Marima Cottages
Accommodation
Marima Cottages
Marima Cottages offers a true forest experience in the Warren National...
388 Old Vasse Road, Pemberton, WA 6260
Big Brook Arboretum
Attraction
Big Brook Arboretum
Arborists and nature lovers will be stunned by the variety of exotic trees...
29 Brockman St, Pemberton, WA 6260
Warren River Loop Walk
Attraction
Warren River Loop Walk
Starting at the Bicentennial Tree, an old bushfire lookout, the moderate...
Dave Evans Bicentennial Tree, Old Vasse Road, Pemberton, WA 6260
Warren National Park
Attraction
Warren National Park
Warren National Park encompasses ancient forests of karri trees - some...
Ritter Road, Pemberton, WA 6260