1919-2013
Author: Stephen Brigham
Many years ago while volunteering for a University of Arizona neighborhood clean-up project, I was assigned to a house that belonged to an older gentleman who needed help. While we were working, the resident came out of his house with a remarkable watercolor of a scene from the Altar Valley with Baboquivari Peak in the background.
I eventually learned that the gentleman was Al Romo – recognized as Tucson’s “great local Mexican-American artist…best known for his renderings of small Southwestern and Mexican villages and the downtown Tucson barrios that were destroyed during the urban renewal of the 1960s, as well as for his desert landscapes. His work has been described as lighthearted and nostalgic, yet ornamented with honest realism.” (2004 article by Salomón R. Baldenegro: “Al Romo is a work of art (and paints them, too”)
If you’ve been to San Xavier Mission, you’ve experienced his restoration skills. His mural commissions include St. Mary’s Hospital, Casa Molina North restaurant and various local offices. His work graces the private collections of many prominent Tucsonans and of former first lady Pat Nixon. Many charitable groups have raised funds by auctioning paintings donated by Romo.
Al Romo at work: Restoration work at San Xavier Mission
Al’s neighborhood connection was his longtime studio and gallery at the former “Plaza Antigua” neighborhood shopping center that was demolished for the Trader Joe’s shopping center at Campbell Avenue and the Rillito River. He then opened a studio and gallery at 1918 E. Prince Road next to DeGrazia’s gallery and the DeGrazia “El Chaparral” Restaurant – part of RillitoBend’s neighborhood history.
Romo Studios:
Left - at Plaza Antigua; Right – at Prince Road
