Deutscher and Hackett

Il Giornale Italiano (The Italian Journal) commenced publication in Sydney in 1931 and was published weekly from March 1932 to January 1940, gaining an Australia-wide circulation of 8,000. At the time Fascist clubs existed across Australia and it has been suggested that influence and financial support for Italian language newspapers in other countries was provided by the Fascist regime in Italy. With stringent quotas imposed on immigration from Italy to the United States in the 1920s, the number of Italians in Australia trebled during these years, reaching 38,000 by the beginning of World War Two. Because of Italy’s alliance with Germany, almost five thousand Italian males were arrested as 'enemy aliens' and interned in camps across Australia.

In 1932 Dattilo-Rubbo (born Naples 1870, arrived Sydney 1897) was made Cavaliere, Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy by Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, raising local concern over his loyalty and leading to a brief internment by the Australian Government in 1940. The situation was made worse when the artist donated one of his works to an Italian club alongside a monetary contribution.

The attribution of this painting to Dattilo-Rubbo is likely considering strong stylistic and compositional similarities to other works and the artist’s connection to the Italian community. The date of c.1932 – 33 is based on the six page format of Il Giornale Italiano which appeared in those years.