A Mission to Paint

Social gridlock reigned at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum when it opened its latest exhibition California Missions by English artist Edwin Deakin.

From 1769 to 1833, the Franciscan Order established 21 missions in Alta California stretching from San Diego to Sonoma, with the primary purpose to convert the indigenous peoples to Roman Catholicism while at the same time becoming a key support to the Spanish colonization of the area.

The mission system left behind an architectural legacy, which Deakin, who died in 1923, began to document in the 1890s. By that time, several of the missions were in a state of disrepair and decay and there was growing alarm that California would lose these architectural monuments of its past.

Deakin captured the missions in two sets of oils and one in watercolor, often traveling by wagon to make surveys on site. The result is an unparalleled artistic record and Deakin’s outstanding achievement.

In partnership with the Santa Barbara Mission-Archive Library, the museum has 21 oils from their collection alongside watercolors from the historical museum, for the first time.

Among the art lovers turning out for the launch of the show, which runs through February 18, were David Bolton, Phil and Dianne Channing, Norman and Kristen Borgatello, Dennis and Candace Fazzio, Mike and Jean McCourt, Dorian Belmonte, Mike Jordan, Fritz and Gretchen Olenberger, Richard and Amanda Payatt, and Luke Swetland.