Absences and Presences: Charles Deering’s Artists in the Banc Sabadell Art Collection

The Maricel Museum revives the memory of the Charles Deering Collection with an exhibition that returns major names in Catalan art to their original space.

The exhibition, which will be open from May 2 to October 25, 2026, proposes a revisiting and reactivation of a fundamental part of the artistic memory of the Maricel complex. The show brings together a total of 26 works from the Banco Sabadell Art Collection, symbolically reconstructing the legacy of Catalan and Spanish artists from the late 19th and early 20th centuries linked to the Deering Collection.

The exhibition represents a return: the works once again occupy the spaces of Maricel, reactivating the narrative of a key moment in the development of Sitges' artistic heritage and its cultural projection.

The group of artists represented includes some of the most prominent names in Catalan and Spanish modern art, such as Santiago Rusiñol, Ramon Casas, Joaquín Mir, Hermenegild Anglada-Camarasa, Joaquín Sunyer, Eliseo Meifrén, Arcadi Mas i Fondevila, Joan Roig i Soler, and Oleguer Junyent, as well as important figures like Mariano Andreu, Javier Nogués, Darío de Regoyos, José María Sert, Ramón de Zubiaurre, Rafael Durancamps, and Jaume Mercadé.

This plurality of artists allows for a rich and diverse view of the artistic languages ​​of the time, from luminist landscapes to portraiture, including sculpture and works on paper.

The exhibition also incorporates a dialogue with 17 historical images of the Maricel complex, creating a relationship between past and present that allows us to rethink the museum beyond its heritage dimension and activate it as a living space of meaning.

In terms of accessibility, the exhibition includes four works with audio description—by Santiago Rusiñol, Joan Roig i Soler, Hermenegild Anglada-Camarasa, and Ramón de Zubiaurre—offering a more sensory and inclusive approach to the artworks. This is the third exhibition at the Sitges Museums to incorporate this resource, consolidating a line of work aimed at expanding access to culture and diversifying audiences.

With this exhibition, the Sitges Museums reinforce their role as a leading institution in the reinterpretation of heritage and in the construction of new cultural narratives based on their own history.

An exhibition to recover a narrative

The Sitges Museums present the exhibition Absences and Presences: The Artists of Charles Deering in the Banco Sabadell Art Collection, a proposal that invites visitors to revisit an essential part of the artistic memory of the Maricel complex and, in turn, to rethink its meaning in the present.

The exhibition stems from a clear idea: to reconstruct what has been lost. To recover, from the present, the presence of those artists who, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, were part of the project spearheaded by Charles Deering, contributing to defining the artistic and symbolic character of Maricel.

This exercise in return is built upon the works currently held in the Banco Sabadell Art Collection, which allow us to restore—albeit in a fragmentary way—a dispersed and, in many cases, forgotten narrative.

Charles Deering and the Maricel Project

Charles Deering, an American industrialist and collector, spearheaded the creation of the Maricel complex at the beginning of the 20th century as a space intended to house an ambitious collection of Hispanic art.

While his collection is best known for the presence of great masters such as El Greco, Zurbarán, and Goya, Deering also brought together a significant group of contemporary artists who contributed to constructing a modern narrative of art linked to Sitges and the European context of the time.

Over time, this collection dispersed, and with it, a significant part of the narrative that had given meaning to the Maricel project also faded away.

A Symbolic Return

The exhibition proposes to reestablish this connection through a gesture laden with meaning: returning the artworks—or, more precisely, the artists—to the place they once inhabited.

The exhibition brings together 26 works from the Banco Sabadell Art Collection, which reoccupy the spaces of Maricel and establish a dialogue with the site's memory.

This return is not only physical but also conceptual. The artworks engage with a total of 17 historical images of the complex, evoking the splendor of the past and generating a contemporary interpretation that activates new layers of meaning.

A Group of Artists to Understand an Era

The exhibition brings together a constellation of artists that allows us to understand the richness and complexity of Catalan and Spanish artistic modernity.

Key figures such as Santiago Rusiñol, Ramon Casas, Joaquim Mir, Hermenegild Anglada-Camarasa, and Joaquim Sunyer are present, along with artists such as Eliseu Meifrèn, Arcadi Mas i Fondevila, Joan Roig i Soler, Oleguer Junyent, and Joan Llaverias.

The exhibition also includes sculptors such as Enric Casanovas and artists such as Ricard Canals, Mariano Andreu, Javier Nogués, Darío de Regoyos, José María Sert, Ramón de Zubiaurre, Rafael Durancamps, and Jaume Mercadé, creating a broad panorama that encompasses painting, sculpture, and works on paper.

This collection allows visitors to explore diverse artistic languages ​​and sensibilities: from luminism and Mediterranean landscapes to portraiture, modern life, and more symbolic and decorative explorations.

The Works

The 26 selected works include notable pieces such as Santiago Rusiñol's Ramon Casas the Cyclist, Joan Roig i Soler's Cadaqués, Anglada-Camarasa's Gypsy with Carnation, and landscapes and scenes by Joaquim Mir and Eliseu Meifrèn, among many others.

The collection is rounded out by sculptures by Enric Casanovas, portraits by Ramon Casas, compositions by Xavier Nogués, and scenes by Darío de Regoyos and Josep Maria Sert, offering a pluralistic and representative view of the period.

Santiago Rusiñol y Prats

Ramon Casas the Cyclist / Portrait of Ramon Casas on a Bicycle (1889)
The Fountain (1889)
Mariano Andreu Estany

Still Life (1919)
Hermenegild Anglada-Camarasa

The Pine Tree of Formentor (1927)
Gypsy Woman with Carnation (1914–1936)
Enric Casanovas i Roy

After the Bath (1930–1939)
Woman with an Apple (circa 1932)
Ramon Casas i Carbó

Portrait of Maria Caralt (circa 1907)
Portrait of a Lady (1904)
Oleguer Junyent y Sans

Village Street (1933)
Joan Llaverias y Labró

Lloret (n.d.)
Arcadi Mas y Fondevila

Ciutadella Park (n.d.)
Eliseo Meifrèn y Roig

Landscape of the Marne (1903)
Costa Brava (circa 1915)
Joaquim Mir y Trinxet

Corner of a Garden (1898)
Old Joy / Devotion (1916)
Xavier Nogués y Casas

The Secretary (circa 1930)
The Flower Seller (circa 1930)
Darío de Regoyos y Valdés

Road to Fuenterrabía (n.d.)
Joan Roig i Soler

Cadaqués (from Es Poal Beach) (circa 1895)
Josep Maria Sert i Badia

Embarkation for Kythira (1912)
Joaquim Sunyer y de Miró

Still Life (n.d.)
Ramón de Zubiaurre Aguirrezabal

Female Portrait (n.d.)
Rafael Durancamps y Folguera

Capea (1935)
Jaume Mercadé i Queralt

Santes Creus (1916)
Ricard Canals i Llambí

Female Portrait (n.d.)
Accessibility: A Consolidated Approach

The exhibition incorporates a strong focus on cultural accessibility, understood as a structural part of the museum project.

In this regard, four works feature audio descriptions, allowing for a more sensory and detailed experience. This resource facilitates access for people with visual impairments, but also opens up new ways of experiencing the works for all visitors.

The selected works are: Ramon Casas, Cyclist by Santiago Rusiñol, Cadaqués by Joan Roig i Soler, Gypsy with Carnation by Hermenegild Anglada-Camarasa, and Female Portrait by Ramón de Zubiaurre.

This is the third exhibition at the Sitges Museums to incorporate audio descriptions, consolidating a sustained commitment to a more inclusive and accessible culture that caters to diverse audiences.

SCHEDULED GUIDED TOUR DATES

Saturday, May 16, 2026, as part of the International Museum Day celebrations
11:00 AM (Catalan) and 12:00 PM (Spanish)
Free admission with limited capacity; prior reservation required at museusdesitges.cat or at the Sitges Museums reception desk.

Friday, May 22, 2026, for members of Sitges cultural and social organizations
5:00 PM and 6:00 PM
Free admission, limited to 15 people. Advance booking required by calling 93 894 03 64, Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 15:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00, or at the Sitges Museums reception desk.

Saturday, June 13, 2026, for members of the Friends of the Sitges Museums and the Year-Round Association of the Art Sector
11:00 (Catalan) and 12:00 (Spanish)
Free admission, limited to 15 people. Advance booking required by calling 93 894 03 64, Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 15:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00, or at the Sitges Museums reception desk.

Saturday, June 20, 2026
10:00 (English), 11:00 (Catalan) and 12:00 (Spanish)
Price: 9 euros. Advance booking required at museusdesitges.cat or at the Sitges Museums reception desk.

Saturday, September 19, 2026
10:00 (English), 11:00 AM (Catalan) and 12:00 PM (Spanish)
Price: €9. Advance booking required at museusdesitges.cat or at the Sitges Museums reception desk.

Saturday, October 17, 2026
10:00 (English), 11:00 AM (Catalan) and 12:00 PM (Spanish)