Edwin Deakin Appraisal

Landscape Painting of Mount Shasta by Edwin Deakin

This is an original 19th-century oil painting on canvas by the renowned British-American artist Edwin Deakin (1838–1923), depicting a sweeping mountainous landscape, likely illustrating Mount Shasta or a similar peak in the Sierra Nevada range. The composition features a luminous, atmospheric sky with soft white clouds, reflecting onto a calm river in the foreground. The palette consists of muted earthy tones, soft purples in the shadowed mountains, and warm golden light illuminating the central peaks. The painting is housed in a heavy, period-correct ornate Gilded Age frame, which features intricate floral and scrolled plaster-and-lath ornamentation. A brass nameplate is affixed to the lower center of the frame, inscribed 'E. DEAKIN'. The work exhibits high technical skill in its handling of light and perspective, characteristic of the Romanticist Hudson River School influence on California artists. Regarding condition, the frame appears to show some minor losses to the gilded ornamentation and a layer of aged patina. The canvas surface shows signs of fine craquelure consistent with age, but no major visible tears or restorations are apparent. The craftsmanship of the frame combined with Deakin's documented historical significance makes this a substantial piece of California landscape art from the late 1800s.