Leighton House, StaircaseHall
Details
The Holland Park area in the nineteenth century became a favourite meeting place for artists, writers and intellectuals, with many subsequently settling there. These artists houses provide a fascinating glimpse of the personalities involved, the architecture and Victorian decoration and design.
Venue
Leighton House, 12 Holland Park Road, London W14 8LZ
Event Organisers
Sarah Bowles and Philippa Barton
Cost
Cost of the visit is £78 plus eventbrite booking fee
Programme
10.30am
Coffee
11.00am
A visit to Leighton House with Daniel Robbins, Senior Curator of Museums, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
This celebrated studio-house was designed by Frederic Leighton and his architect friend George Aitchison in 1864 to provide spaces for living, working, entertaining and the display of Leighton’s art collection. The restrained red brick façades contrast with the rich and colourful interiors, created in stages over thirty years, including the grand staircase hall inspired by Venetian palaces and the exotic splendour of the Arab Hall with its golden dome and fountain. Leighton House has recently re-opened following a major building and refurbishment project creating a new entrance, exhibition space, café and a new rotunda with lift and staircase decorated by the Iranian artist, Shahrzad Ghaffari.
12.30pm
Light Lunch
2.00pm
A guided visit to Sambourne House, 18 Stafford Terrace, W8 7BH
18 Stafford Terrace became the home of Punch cartoonist and photographer Edward Linley Sambourne in 1875. He and his wife, Marion, set about creating a suitable setting for an aspiring artist. Inspired by the fashionable Aesthetic Movement they installed Morris & Co wallpapers, stained glass windows and new furnishings. Most of the interior decoration, furniture and collection of blue and white ceramics survives, giving an unrivalled picture of an artistic home in the late nineteenth century.