Leighton House, 12 Holland Park Road, London W14 A property of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
An ambitious redevelopment project has augmented the celebrated interiors of this magnificent studio house. John Goodall reveals how it came into being
This three-year project has focused on the operation and infrastructure of the building, but it has also aimed to reinstate further the principal historic interiors of the house. As a consequence, the visitor today can appreciate more fully than ever the evolution of this property during the lifetime of its creator.
The story of Leighton House properly begins in Italy, with the introduction of the artist and sculptor George Frederick Watts to the British Minister Plenipotentiary to Tuscany and his wife, Lord and Lady Holland, in 1843. Lord Holland was then the prospective heir of Holland House and its estate on the outskirts of London. The Hollands invited Watts to stay with them in Florence until he could find lodgings in the city, but he immediately became a close friend and remained with them as a permanent lodger for nearly four years.
Meanwhile, the young Frederic Leighton, was likewise in Europe. He had been born in Scarborough in 1830, before his family moved to London and then, from 1840, spent long periods abroad. Leighton showed an early enthusiasm for drawing and, as the family moved, he studied in sequence in Germany at the Academy of Art in Berlin, Stellwag's Academy at Frankfurt am Main, the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy, and finally, from the age of 16, in Germany again at the Städelsches Kunstinstitut in Frankfurt. This astonishing education accounts for his remarkable facility for languages. He was also an enthusiastic musician.
This story is from the February 21, 2024 edition of Country Life UK.
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This story is from the February 21, 2024 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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