Charles Deering (1852-1927) was born in South Paris, Maine, into a wealthy family (Merino de Cáceres and Martínez Ruiz, 2012). His father, William Deering, had founded the Deering Harvester Company, a business dedicated to manufacturing agricultural machinery. Like many young men of his time, Charles harboured a great fascination for the military, which motivated his enrolment at the United States Naval Academy (Sánchez Sauleda, 2018).
In 1875, he married Anna Rogers Case, the daughter of Admiral Augustus Ludlow Case. However, just a year after their wedding, Anna passed away, prompting Charles to return to the navy and depart for Europe. Between 1877 and 1879, he travelled aboard the Kearsarge, exploring the coasts of Spain and France (Sánchez Sauleda, 2018). These journeys had a significant impact on his life and personal tastes, serving as the foundation for his subsequent art collection. Additionally, they led to his friendship with Ramón Casas, who introduced him to Sitges. It was there that Deering decided, in collaboration with architect Miquel Utrillo i Morlius, to construct the Maricel Palace in 1912, a site where he housed his art collection (Bassegoda and Domènech, 2010; Sánchez Sauleda, 2018). In 1921, he relocated a large part of his collection to Tamarit Castle (Tarragona), while the remainder was sent to the United States (Merino de Cáceres and Martínez Ruiz, 2012).
Bibliography
BASSEGODA, Bonaventura y DOMÈNECH, Ignasi (2010): "Charles Deering y el Palacio Maricel de Sitges (Barcelona)", nº 3, e-artDocuments: revista sobre col·leccions i col·leccionistes, pp. 35-57.