It happens to Londoners too- I didn't get off at the wrong stop, oh no, I got on totally the wrong Tube line! There's me looking out for High Street Kensington and it didn't appear. Luckily, I used to live in West London, very much nearby, and had my trusty map with me, so I jumped off at West Kensington and walked through to Holland Park.
Once again, I had one of those, 'Why couldn't I have done this when I lived in Hammersmith?' moments. It's only up the road but, then again, I hadn't even heard of this place until I stumbled across details on the internet recently (by accident).
Leighton House Museum was the London home and studio of Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896). A lifelong bachelor, he lived alone and was heavily associated with the Pre-Raphaelites. The museum contains both his own work and pieces by other artists.
Photography is not allowed in the house (something I find very annoying, especially in this day and age of mobile phones, when people can take sneaky pictures anyway).
The Arab Hall displays Leighton's collection of tiles, brought back from the Middle East.
Here are some PDFs, but do try and visit, as words cannot explain how peaceful it is inside the beautiful hall, listening to the gentle water of the fountain flowing, staring at the thick stained glass windows and taking in the lovely cerulean/ kingfisher/ cobalt blue of the tile designs.
The gracious view up the stairs.
Dining room.
Leighton's study.
Leighton's studio.
At the top of the stairs was my favourite painting, inspired by a poem by Pre-Raphaelite artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. It is by John Byam Shaw and is called Silent Noon.
I was allowed to take photographs outside, big whoop (sarcasm)!
Here is the back garden.
The Middle Eastern theme follows through with this amphora urn.
Bowery.
Fountain.
Statue and flower beds.
Another amphora urn. This really was an elegant garden, but I did have to crop out the bin!
The entrance hall is worth a look and, if you're into art you'll enjoy this artist's house museum.
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