Just prior to 1870 Edwin, along with his entire extended family, moved to San Francisco, California.
 He quickly established a successful career as a painter of the untamed California wilderness.
Although he consigned his paintings to private commercial galleries and was a director and frequent exhibitor at the San Francisco Art Association (SFAA), he sold most of his canvases through public auctions.
He became an exhibiting member of the Graphic Club and Bohemian Club.
In 1874 he exhibited a Lake Tahoe scene at the Chicago Academy of Arts.

Three years later he left on a grand tour of Europe, where he painted primarily in England, France and Switzerland, and exhibited at the Paris Salon.
 He returned in May 1879 to San Francisco.
The first showings of his new European paintings in San Francisco garnered much attention.
He exhibited dozens of paintings to positive reviews at the California State Fair between 1879 and 1889.
 He traveled extensively through the Midwest and had prolonged stays in both Denver (1882–83) and Salt Lake City (1883).
Deakin's highly publicized disputes with the "rebels" of the San Francisco art colony caused him to withdraw in 1885 as an exhibiting member of the SFAA.
At this time his still lifes of pendulous grapes became extremely popular and were much imitated.
During one of his several trips to New York City he published a series of articles which called for the standardization of canvas sizes, a common practice in Europe that allowed for the mass production of cheaper frames.
Just prior to 1870 Edwin, along with his entire extended family, moved to San Francisco, California.  He quickly established a successful career as a painter of the untamed California wilderness. Although he consigned his paintings to private commercial galleries and was a director and frequent exhibitor at the San Francisco Art Association (SFAA), he sold most of his canvases through public auctions. He became an exhibiting member of the Graphic Club and Bohemian Club. In 1874 he exhibited a Lake Tahoe scene at the Chicago Academy of Arts.
Three years later he left on a grand tour of Europe, where he painted primarily in England, France and Switzerland, and exhibited at the Paris Salon.  He returned in May 1879 to San Francisco. The first showings of his new European paintings in San Francisco garnered much attention. He exhibited dozens of paintings to positive reviews at the California State Fair between 1879 and 1889.  He traveled extensively through the Midwest and had prolonged stays in both Denver (1882–83) and Salt Lake City (1883). Deakin's highly publicized disputes with the "rebels" of the San Francisco art colony caused him to withdraw in 1885 as an exhibiting member of the SFAA. At this time his still lifes of pendulous grapes became extremely popular and were much imitated. During one of his several trips to New York City he published a series of articles which called for the standardization of canvas sizes, a common practice in Europe that allowed for the mass production of cheaper frames.
Edwin Deakin