Paintings by Vic Romano Italian Prisoner of War

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.