Leighton House Museum, London

"The House Beautiful" was originally constructed for Frederic Leighton, a distinguished Victorian artist who served as the president of the Royal Academy. In the 1860s, as he embarked on the project, he articulated his vision: "It will be opulence, it will be sincerity."

The entrance hall, adorned with peacock-blue De Morgan tiles, exudes a wonderfully melancholic ambiance and leads into the main attraction, the breathtaking Arab Hall with its striking dome, constructed in 1877. Inspired by a Moorish palace in Palermo, it is adorned with Saracen tiles, intricate gilded mosaics, and latticework drawn from various corners of the Islamic world. While the other rooms may not match the spectacle of the Arab Hall, they feature outstanding paintings by Lord Leighton and his Pre-Raphaelite colleagues, all displayed in ostentatious frames. Skylights brighten the upper floor, which includes a charming, gilded boudoir that overlooks the Arab Hall and Leighton's expansive studio, which also opens to the garden and was used for evening concerts.

Following substantial renovations, Leighton House, alongside Sambourne House, reopened its doors to the public in October 2022. These renovations have made the public areas of Leighton House wheelchair-accessible, expanded the available public spaces, introduced contemporary commissions by artists from the Middle East and North Africa, and carefully reconfigured the internal architecture and interiors to authentically reflect the house's appearance and flow during Leighton's era.

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Sight Name: Leighton House Museum
Sight Location: London, England (See walking tours in London)
Sight Type: Museum/Gallery
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

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