Born in Sheffield, England on May 21, 1838. At age 12 Deakin was apprenticed to a decorative japanning firm where he was taught to paint landscapes on boxes and tables. This appears to have been the extent of his art training and he remained a self-taught artist. A most talented youth, by 18 he was recognized in France and his native England for his architectural paintings. After moving to America in 1856, Deakin settled in Chicago and soon was exhibiting portraits of Civil War heroes at the Chicago Art Academy. In 1870 he moved to San Francisco, established a studio, and within a few years had gained a fine reputation as a painter while exhibiting regularly with the San Francisco Art Ass'n and at the Mechanics' Institute Fairs. He w

Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
California Design, 1910; Painters of the Humble Truth; From Frontier to Fire; A Gallery of Calif. Mission Paintings; Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers (Fielding, Mantle); Artists of the American West (Doris Dawdy).

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