Lord Frederic Leighton by G F Watts in 1871
On the edge of Holland Park is a small museum, which showcases the opulent 19th Century home and studio of renowned British artist Frederic Leighton, who remains the only British artist to become a Lord and Baron. The design for the house was proposed and created by architect George Aitchison, and includes a Arab Hall as it’s centrepiece, complete with sparkling and vibrant Islamic tiles brought back from trips to Damascus, Syria. “Leighton has been collecting tiles for years” said George Aitchison, “Chaldean tiles, tiles of Damascus, tiles from Crete, of wonderful colour and some of wonderful design. They used to stand in the studio and get in the way. One day he said ‘I must really do something with these tiles.” and Aitchison undertook to furnish him with a design that would be suited to their employment. The interior is truly remarkable, richly decorated with gilded ceilings and silk wallpapers, William Morris curtains and Millais’ paintings. Leighton was part of the Aesthetic Movement (see V+A exhibition- Cult of Beauty), which believed in art that existed only in order to be beautiful. He was creating a new type of beauty for the interior, one that could be observed and appreciated by the many famous guests that walked through his front door. As one 19th Century critic said about the interior, “Aitchison has managed to build a home that reflects the mind of it’s occupant: encompassing the eclecticism of Greek art, the devotionalism of the Medieval and the warmth of Orientalism”.
The Silk Room
The entrance lobby when Leighton lived there
The Arab Hall
