Salvatore Del Deo and his family will be able to stay in their long-term home, after a close brush with eviction.
Salvatore Del Deo, 95, has been a fixture of the Cape Cod art scene for decades, since he and his wife settled their after coming coming home from WWII. They both studied under Henry Hensch, learning plein air painting on the wild and beautiful coast.
This dune shack, located in the beautiful Cape Cod National Seashore, is a piece of paradise for artists, writers, and thinkers. It’s a remote, electricity-free, and plumbing-free oasis, famous for its tranquility. Del Deo doesn’t live there full-time, but it’s where he goes to paint.
The family was abruptly told to leave during the summer as the National Park Service decided to open a bidding process for people to lease eight of the shacks for up to ten years. The Del Deo family’s shack wasn’t in that initial eight, but it might be in the next rounds of bidding. Despite the eviction notice, the family has refused to begin vacating the shack.
The Del Deo family has a deep connection to this place, with the painter having worked there for an incredible 77 years. That’s a lifetime of memories and creativity tied to this shack.
However, they refused to give up. With the help of pro-bono lawyers and the Interior Department, they’ve reached an agreement that allows them to lease the shack for another five years. They wanted to ensure they could continue their cherished connection to this unique place. It’s a heartwarming but temporary victory for a family that didn’t want to relinquish their presence in a location so dear to their hearts.
“We’ve been hammering out an understanding and we are very pleased with the results,” said Romolo Del Deo, Salvatore’s son. “We did not want to relinquish our presence there.”