Dear Art Lover,
Thanks to painter Vicki Sullivan
in Australia, I was told about the Lord
Leighton House/Studio and Museum in
London. Frederick (Lord) Leighton
lived from 1830 to 1896. He is probably
most famous for his painting Flaming June, which consists of a sleeping
curled-up young woman in a flowing semi-transparent orange gown. I would include the image here, but I already
have one image for each letter of the alphabet in this post! Perhaps you know the work already: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_JuneAs logistics would have it, I ended up exiting the tube (subway/metro) at Holland Park and thought that I would walk south to the museum. I do not know much about London and it was a lovely day for taking a walk anyway. Holland Park is a charming little getaway when one needs a Nature fix. And they have a pretty good public sculpture collection started that enhanced my stroll.
I must say that I found it difficult to locate street signs in London. However, sometimes I missed “the obvious” because the signs were large and low, so it very well could just have been my training to look up. However, on this pair of signs shown, I must ask you, which side is the actual Abbotsbury Road?
I have also decided that the Lord Leighton House just might be one of London’s best kept secrets. It was a little difficult to find (my map was too simplified and I do not own a smart phone with GPS or online access). More than half of the locals I asked for directions as I neared had no idea of what I was asking about. The two who did told me that it was worth the search.
Allora, as you enter the ground floor (after paying a seven British Pound fee, there are five rooms, one being a square sort of corridor that houses the wide staircase and shows off a stuffed male peacock. Beyond that is a “red room” that appeared to be a possible dining room [no photo here]. A large and fairly empty room with an out-jutting area for sitting. I actually do not remember seeing a kitchen.
The main attraction on that floor is the chapel. Or Turkish bath? Anyway, you can tell where the artist’s taste lies. It is pretty impressive and I wondered what it was like to live with such a space…fancier than any place that I have ever lived.
Once up the stairs, this exotic sitting space overlooking the Turkish room is the first one you see. And having lived in Florence, Italy, so long, it is impossible not to know who is the monk Savonarola. However, I had no idea that he has a chair named after him!
The bedroom is sparsely furnished, but I am not sure if it is because this is not the original furniture and they kept things minimal or if the artist truly lived this simply. The Web site says that Lord Leighton lived alone in that huge house, so that may explain the single bed as well. No need for clutter in a space that large for only one man.
To read more about the Leighton House and Studio, as well as connected museums, check out:
https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/subsites/museums/leightonhousemuseum/aboutthehouse.aspx
I am not above taking a donation. Even five bucks is a help, if you enjoy what you read about and see in my images here on this blog. Thank you. [You may make a donation via the PayPal links on the side bar on the blog site: http://artbyborsheim.blogspot.com ]
Peace,
Kelly
~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor,
painter, writer, teacher