Leighton House London

Leighton House, the remarkable studio and home of the artist Lord Frederick Leighton (1830-1896), re-opened its doors on 15 October after a £8M transformation.

The museum sits on the edge of Holland Park and is well known for its lavish interiors, including the Arab Hall (based on mosaics, tiles, and architecture assimilated by Leighton on his travels to Sicily, Turkey, Egypt and Syria) and the original studio space.

Luke Hughes has been working for the museum for forty years and, on this project, was commissioned to recreate the pair of missing library bookcases that once formed a key part of the furnishings of Leighton’s actual painting studio room. These highly elaborate library bookcases, originally designed in conjunction with Leighton by his architect George Aitchison, were inlaid with fruitwood and lapis lazuli, with elaborate Greek Revival detailing.

The designs clearly matched the stylised patterns of the woodwork elsewhere in the building and formed key elements in that interior; they framed the entry to the Winter Studio and held some of Leighton’s varied library collection.

Leighton’s Studio frequently featured in the Victorian press and in the museum’s archives, 19th century photos were found to have survived, offering just enough detail for a forensic eye to recreate the original design intent.

The task has required a painstaking but rewarding collaboration between the principal designer, (Luke Hughes), and the Leighton House curatorial department, led by the Senior Curator, Daniel Robbins.

For more details about this and any other projects or products, please contact us.