The Maricel Museum receives an International prize for preserving heritage

The Maricel Museum of Sitges, which is part of the Network of Local Museums ascribed to the Government of the Province of Barcelona, received the William I. Irvine prize for their leadership in the preservation of heritage awarded by the American Organization called Deering Estate Foundation. The deputy of Culture of the Provincial Government of Barcelona and president of the Heritage Consortium of Sitges, Joan Carles Garcia Cañizares, received the award this Wednesday at the headquarters of the Foundation in Miami.

Cañizares stressed the importance of the award that recognizes the Maricel Museum and their task in the preservation the artistic and cultural heritage and he expressed his confidence that “the award will serve to retake and reinforce the partially forgotten link between Sitges, Catalonia and North America, a relation that once was very strong and rich thanks to the legacy of Charles Deering in this municipality”. The deputy also added that he was totally convinced that the prize will bring important achievements for the culture of our country in the near future.

On the other side, the former director of the Consortium of Heritage of Sitges and the Museums of Sitges from 2011 to 2019 and the current president of CONCA, Vinyet Panyella, received a personal recognition on a personal level for her task during all those years.

The Maricel is an artistic and monumental ensemble that represents one of the earliest and foremost examples of Noucentisme. The Maricel was built between 1910 and 1918 by the artist and engineer Miquel Utrillo under the orders of the North American tycoon, collector and philanthropist Charles Deering, in which he established his summer house that hosted his art collections until 1921. In the year 1954, the Ciy Hall of Sitges bought the building of the Palace, the part of land of the ensemble to the descendants of Deering and between 1969 and 1970, the Government of the Province of Barcelona bought and refurbished the seaboard side, transforming the residence of Deering in the Maricel Museum and adapting the Building for the new usage, preserving some decorative features.

From its reopening in December 2014, the Maricel Museum presents all the collections integrated in a single approach, that allows to follow the history of art and aesthetic ideas from the tenth century to the figuration during the forties and fifties of the past century.

The Maricel Museum and the Cau Ferrat of Sitges are part of the Network of Local Museums of the Provincial Government of Barcelona and enjoy the condition of Museums of National Interests from the month of January.