~ Coastal Oil Painting By RAF Prisoner Of War F/Lt Dom Thom In Colditz Castle ~
The painting is done in the pointillism style and depicts a small coastal harbour scene. It is painted on hardboard, possibly using the packaging material from a Red Cross parcel.
It is signed to the lower right F/Lt (Flight Lieutenant) D Thom OFLAG IV-C (for the officer’s prisoner of war camp at Colditz Castle).
The painting comes with a printed piece of paper detailing his attempted escape from Colditz on the 23rd of November 1941.
~ Colditz Castle ~
Colditz Castle (or Schloss Colditz in German) is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns of Hartha and Grimma on a hill spur over the river Zwickauer Mulde, a tributary of the River Elbe. It had the first wildlife park in Germany when, during 1523, the castle park was converted into one of the largest menageries in Europe.
The castle gained international fame as the site of Oflag IV-C, a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II for “incorrigible” Allied officers who had repeatedly attempted to escape from other camps.
~ Condition ~
Please refer to the images for the condition. The painting is unfinished as presumably, and hopefully, Donald was released by US troops after it was captured on the 16th of April, 1945.
~ Dimensions ~
The piece is 25cm (10 inches) wide and 20cm (8 inches) tall.