Leighton House, Jewel of the 19th Century

• PHOTOS

Step in to the decadence and Victorian formality of Leighton House Museum, built in the mid 19th century as the home and studio of artist Frederic, Lord Leighton. The newly restored house and art collection, located in London’s affluent Holland Park neighborhood, showcases not only the objects and spaces that inspired Lord Leighton but also the beauty of his private world.

In true Victorian style, Leighton was an avid collector of antiquities and focused much of his attention on objet d’art that inspired his own creativity as well as presented his taste and status to his clients. Frederic Leighton train as a painter in Florence at the Academia di Belle Arti before moving to Paris in 1855, where he rubbed elbows with the French Academy painters such as Delacroix and Ingres. By 1860 Leighton returned to London where he eventually served as President of the Royal Academy. His career produced some of the most romantic and evocative paintings of the 19th century, and he became the first pa

Step in to the decadence and Victorian formality of Leighton House Museum, built in the mid 19th century as the home and studio of artist Frederic, Lord Leighton. The newly restored house and art collection, located in London’s affluent Holland Park neighborhood, showcases not only the objects and spaces that inspired Lord Leighton but also the beauty of his private world.

In true Victorian style, Leighton was an avid collector of antiquities and focused much of his attention on objet d’art that inspired his own creativity as well as presented his taste and status to his clients. Frederic Leighton train as a painter in Florence at the Academia di Belle Arti before moving to Paris in 1855, where he rubbed elbows with the French Academy painters such as Delacroix and Ingres. By 1860 Leighton returned to London where he eventually served as President of the Royal Academy. His career produced some of the most romantic and evocative paintings of the 19th century, and he became the first painter to be given a peerage granting him the title of “Lord”.

Leighton brought back the flavour of his travels to his atelier in London, where he incorporated the subtleties of the Orient, the formalness of the French, and opulence of the Italian Renaissance, in the adornment of his workspace at his Holland Park home. One of our art historian’s will lead you through the richly decorated interiors of this lovely historic house. We will start in the Dining and Drawing rooms with an overview of Lord Leighton’s life and career, and discuss the relevance of his work to his contemporaries. We will then move into the deep blue Narcissus Hall with it’s mosaic floors and tiled walls into the Arab Hall, the most decorative part of the home. Here we will look at the fabulous collection of rare Islamic tiles from Damascus and Syria. The walk continues to the upper floor with a peek into the double height Studio to the Silk Room, named for its green silk wall coverings and housing the Mashrabiyah window, a decorative screen allowing for hidden glimpses into the Arab Hall. Finally we will end by seeing Leighton’s austere private bedroom.