Leighton House and Museum
Leighton House and Museum is located in the Holland Park area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Built by painter Frederic Leighton, the 1stBaron Leighton in 1866 the house has red Suffolk bricks and Caen Stone. The Classical style house was extended throughout the next thirty years as rooms were added to hold more of Leighton’s collections. In 1867, Leighton traveled to Turkey, then to Egypt and Syria, and later Damascus in 1873. He collected textiles and pottery to be displayed in his house. Influenced by his travels, the house boasts a Qa’a room, (a roofed reception room found in the Islamic world) and an Islamic court. The house has numerous large columns, a mosaic frieze, marble work, domed ceilings, fountains, and elaborate tile work with tiles from the 14th, 16th, and 17thcenturies. The final additions were the winter studio added in 1889, which was a type of greenhouse supported by cast iron columns, to help artists see their works during the winter smog and fog. The silk room picture gallery was added in 1895. Leighton died in 1896 and the contents of the house were sold, the majority purchased by the Fine Art Society. The gallery opened in 1929. Leighton House and Museum has many permanent works on display, which includes Leighton’s works and other works by artists like Brunelleschi, Perugini, Costa, Rossellino, and more. (Currently closed)
