San Gabriel Mission
Edwin Deakin: California Painter of the Picturesque
Jul 3, 2009 - Nov 1, 2009
Known for his large body of work showcasing the California Missions, Edwin Deakin spent over 30 years documenting 21 missions. Including pieces on loan from the Crocker Art Museum this exhibition is sponsored in part by a grant from the Anorcase Foundation.
The third of seven children, Edwin Deakin was born in Sheffield, England, in 1838. His father was from a family of cutlery manufacturers and worked as a bookkeeper; he would open a hardware business in Chicago. His mother was born in Montreal and was of Welsh descent. In 1850 the Deakins moved to Wolverhampton, and the twelve-year-old Edwin became an apprentice at an establishment specializing in japanning furniture, learning to paint flowers, landscapes, and other decorative designs. Except for this experience, and private study from books and gallery visits, he remained largely self-taught.
When the family moved to Chicago in 1856, Edwin Deakin brought with him many watercolor and pencil sketches, aiming to pursue a career in art. Finding his options limited in the Midwest, he took a job hand-coloring photographs. In 1865, he married Isabel "Belle" Fox (1846-1924), an Englishwoman, in Chicago. Deakin had three children with Isabel.
In the late 1860s, Deakin exhibited a painting publicly for the first time. This early effort, an architectural subject of an old English tavern, set the tone for much of his later work. Deakin visited San Francisco in the summer and fall of 1870, but then returned to Chicago. In October 1871, the great Chicago fire consumed much of the city, including the family's hardware business and all but six of Deakin's paintings. The loss sent him back to San Francisco where he became known as one of the city's most prominent painters.
