In the later 19th century an enclave of prestigious artists grew and flourished in the Holland Park area of London. The flamboyant home of Lord Leighton can still be visited today. Lindley Sambourne, a long time Punch cartoonist, lived nearby in Victorian exuberance with his family – combine the two houses for an entertaining day out.
LEIGHTON HOUSE
The father was a doctor and had high hopes for his son: unless he were to be eminent as an artist, it was not a suitable profession for a young gentleman!
However, Frederic Leighton was to indeed become eminent in his field, so much so that he was the only artist ever to be knighted and enjoyed a long career at the pinnacle of his profession, which included 18 years as President of the Royal Academy, whilst maintaining a personal reticence which one wishes many a celebrity today could master.
Although born in Scarborough in 1830, Frederic’s family moved to Europe when he was only 11, finally settling in Frankfurt where he was to study. Fluent in four languages and exposed at an early age to the delights of the great galleries of Europe, he arrived in dazzling fashion at the Royal Academy exhibition of 1855 when he displayed the giant canvas of Cimabué’s Madonna Carried in Procession – his success was assured when it was bought by Queen Victoria.
In the 1860`s he built a studio house on Holland Park Road and over the next 30 years added various extensions and embellished it to become his ‘House Beautiful’.
His frequent travels to the Middle East and Italy influenced the style of its most striking feature: the wondrous Arab Hall with its twinkling fountain, lattice works screens and rich array of blue and white tiles.
More tile work and a stuffed peacock decorate the central stairway which leads to the huge studio at the top of the house where a riotous display of his art can be seen, including one of his few sculptures: the Sluggard.
It was a fitting area to show off his work to potential patrons. Later, a light-filled extension to one end became his Winter Studio. It offers a fine view over the garden, rather incongruously furnished with a statue of an Indian brave on horseback battling a python.
The nearby bedroom by contrast is relatively simple. Adorned with portraits of his father, sister and favourite muse, Leighton was to die in the room in 1896.
One of his last legacies to the world was Flaming June, a radiant study of a sleeping woman awash in orange and sun. A preparatory study can be seen in the free-to-visit downstairs area – the original fell so out of fashion that it was sold cheaply in the 1960`s and ended up at a museum in Puerto Rico (although presently on display at the Royal Academy in London until January 2025 whilst it’s home is being repaired due to earthquake damage).
There is a little cafe amidst the cast iron columns under the winter studio, with a good array of baguettes, coffee and cakes with garden views.
THE HOLLAND PARK CIRCLE
In the 60 years leading up to WW1, a burgeoning middle class and a demand for prints caused the art market to flourish – and the studios in the streets at the edge of Holland Park housed the most prestigious artists of the time. The annual Show Sunday preceded the Royal Academy exhibition when the artists held a popular open day to preview their work.
George Frederic Watts had been the first to arrive in the 1850’s but the arrival of Leighton and his friend Val Princep in the next decade cemented the desirability of the enclave, with a new wave of building from 1875 with the creation of Melbury Road.
It is worth doing the short loop to see the houses – all but two survive. Next to Leighton’s house stands that of Val Princep who painted the great 1877 Delhi Durbar where Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India.
On the corner, the Holland Park Studios contained 6 studios for those artists who wanted to be in the area but could not extend to building their own house.
Returning on Melbury Road, there is the Thornycroft House where sculptors Mary and Thomas raised seven children, 4 of whom became artists.
The next site now contains a rather hideous block of flats – the home of George Frederic Watts was demolished in 1964.
The large studio windows of Marcus Stone’s house are quite distinctive, as is the Gothic tower belonging to the house of the architect William Burges on the opposite side of the road.
Luke Fildes painted the state portraits of King Edward VII and Edward V, both of whom visited his house on Melbury Road. It is well set back and not very visible.
The Colin Hunter house was destroyed by a WW2 bomb. The Glaswegian artist specialized in seascapes. Number 18 has a rare ‘double blue’ : a plaque to William Holman Hunt who lived and died there in 1910, but also intriguingly to Cetshwayo, King of the Zulus, who merely stayed in 1882.
A final turn completes the circuit with the J. J. Shannon house, on the site of the old farmhouse of the Holland Estate. His was the last studio house to be built in 1882.
THE SAMBOURNE HOUSE
A short walk away via Kensington High Street – the short stretch offers a selection of attractive cafes – is the Sambourne House at No. 18 Stafford Terrace.
Linley Sambourne (1844-1910) was on a slightly less exalted level than Lord Leighton, but very successful in his own right. A cartoonist, illustrator and photographer, he became First Cartoonist for the satirical magazine Punch, working for them for 42 years and producing some 3000 drawings, the subject of which was discussed at the weekly Wednesday dinner prior to publication on the Friday.
Linley developed his cartoons from photographs he took of his family and staff, which involved lots of dressing up. Later he became involved in street photography and by the time of his death had amassed 30,000 images. He also produced illustrations for Charles Kingsley’s book The Water-Babies and drawings for the diplomas awarded at the International Fisheries Exhibition of 1883.
In 1874 he married Marion Herepath and they moved into the house at Stafford Terrace where they were to live for the rest of their lives, along with their children Maud and Roy and various household staff.
After their deaths, Roy continued living in the house until his death in 1946. A confirmed bachelor, he seems to have largely enjoyed a life about town and was never enthusiastic about his career in the city.
It was Maud’s daughter Anne who founded the Victorian Society and was finally responsible for the house becoming a museum in 1958.
Three generations of the family have certainly left their mark on the house and it has come down to us in a very lived-in state. Linley was an enthusiastic home decorator and furnisher, albeit on a slightly limited budget. Auctions were a frequent hunting ground and items were purchased for pleasure and display – within two years of moving in, an inventory showed 50 vases, 70 chairs and 700 framed pictures.
Today there must be thousands more: the rooms are tightly packed and the pictures are hung side by side. Vases vie for space with mantle clocks and knick knacks, rich fabrics drape the tables, piano and curtains and it is all quite dark although it must have been very cosy when the fires were lit – one can easily imagine the little family in their drawing room with his and hers armchairs and smaller versions for the children.
The visit starts in the basement which has been stripped back but on ascending the stairs one is plunged into Victoriana with the morning room and dining room. The house climbs too: I was left quite breathless after ascending 3 floors and a couple of half landings to the nursery and maid’s bedroom on the top floor. Linley seems to have ascended through the house over the years and ended up turning the nursery into his studio once the children were grown.
In between there is an airy bedroom, the marble bathroom which came in useful for developing negatives and the large drawing room – I loved all of it and as a keen maximalist even found a few decorating tips!
NOTES
Detailed information on both museums can be found here
