A fine WILLIE APAP Malta [ brother of Vincent ] Maltese oil on panel ; ‘Pines in Rome’ signed , dated 1946

Maltese artist Willie Apap Malta ‘ Pines in Rome ‘ antique oil painting on panel SIGNED  [ Guglielmo ] dated 1946.On May 16,

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1941, the Comitato d’Azione Maltese, clearly enthused by the success of the Mostra Augustea, organised a Mostra di Malta at its headquarters in Palazzo Antici Mattei, close to Piazza Venezia, Rome. It was an exhibition promoting different aspects of Maltese culture and, where possible, Italian culture in Malta. The contemporary artists whose works featured in this Malta exhibition included Preca, Borg Pisani, Paolo Consiglio and Guglielmo (Willie) Apap. The exhibition, which ran until June 30, 1941, included 10 of Apap’s works, among them his Ritratto di S. M. il Re Imperatore. The exhibition was visited by the King on May 24 in what must have been the first and only encounter with his portrait. The participation at the Mostra and, in particular, his specific portrait of the King, was to be one of the highlights on the part of the prosecution at Willie Apap’s conspiracy trial in 1947.