Prisoner of War Painting, "Herbst"

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Painted by a German Prisoner of War, held in Glassboro, NJ, this watercolor painting depicts a tree-lined road. The bright yellow leaves likely depict the color change of maple trees leaves in early autumn.

The artist signed his name, (we believe it is spelled Foramilli) and the painting is dated 1945, and marked with USA. In the bottom middle of the painting, the artist wrote, "Herbst," which translates to Autumn in German.

The painting was created using watercolor on a thin non-acid free paper that was likely some sort of packing paper. The painting has water damage across the left side of the piece.

During World War II, German prisoners of war were held in a camp in Glassboro. The approximate location of the camp was 152 Delsea Drive, map coordinates: 39.689897, -75.099849 The road next to the currently existing recreation area is called Labor Camp Road. 

By all accounts, the German prisoners were well cared for and treated with respect. The prisoners were paid normal wages, had comfortable living quarters and even had time for leisure activities such as creating artwork.

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