Leighton House Museum

“Lord Leighton was a significant British artist of the late 19th century and the first ever to receive a peerage. Leighton House served both as his home and studio and as a centre for the artistic community. The Jury was delighted with the way the recent restoration had recaptured the original style and atmosphere of the house. It was this attention to authenticity which particularly appealed to us, reinstating all the remarkable interiors, from the gorgeous Arab Hall, with its fountain and collection of Islamic tiles which Leighton himself brought back from Damascus, to his enormous working studio with separate back stairs for models and dealers and his own austere little bedroom.”

Leighton House is inextricably linked to the life of Frederic, Lord Leighton. Constructed between 1865 and 1896, Leighton was closely involved in the house’s design and in the collections of art that filled it. By the time of his death in 1896, it had become his extraordinary private Palace of Art.
The restoration project aimed at returning the house to its full glory and enhancing visitor engagement. The house now expresses Leighton’s personal vision and ambition for it. The Museum also offers a rich and formalized cultural and education programme.

Leighton house is a unique venue for the understanding and appreciation of Victorian art and architecture, as well as the wider cultural and artistic life of Europe at that time. The great success of this project has been to preserve and enhance the special ambience of a very personal artistic and architectural conception.

More information
www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums/leighton-house