Spandau Ballet house celebrates 100 years as museum
Leighton intended to create a purpose-built studio-house where he could work and live.His friend George Aitchison, whom he met in Rome more than a decade earlier, was employed as the architect.The project lasted more than 30 years, and the house was designed as a showcase for artistic taste - and to entertain and impress artists, collectors and celebrities.Between 1869 and 1895 it was transformed by a series of extensions.
During World War Two the house was damaged by bombing and remained closed until the early 1950s.Limited funds for restoration saw interiors whitewashed, floors stripped, and fluorescent lighting put in. This neutralised much of what remained of Leighton's decoration, which has now been restored to its jewel-like tones and Middle Eastern influences.This included re-gilding the dome and restoring the ziggurats on the roof of the Arab Hall.
The centenary programme will feature several key exhibitions and the museum is asking the public to share their memories.Kensington and Chelsea councillor, Kim Taylor-Smith, encouraged people to take part, dubbing Leighton House "Kensington's own National Treasure".Senior curator of the council's museums, Daniel Robbins, said the programme "brings together every aspect of Leighton House that makes it distinctive, significant and still relevant 100 years later".
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