For those lucky enough to be venturing in London from now until October 29th, you have an opportunity to see the first Alma-Tadema exhibition in London since 1913, and the only UK venue for this exhibition following a highly successful European tour. Over 130 works by the leading Victorian artist will be displayed throughout the studio-house of his friend and contemporary Frederic Leighton.

Alma-Tadema: At Home in Antiquity, the first major exhibition in London since 1913 to be devoted to one of the most popular artists of the Victorian era, is now open at Leighton House Museum. With over 130 works, Leighton House Museum is the only UK venue for the exhibition, following an exceptionally successful tour to the Museum of Friesland, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands (the artist’s home town) and the Belvedere, Vienna, Austria.

The exhibition explores all phases of the artist’s career with a particular focus on his fascination with the representation of domestic life in classical antiquity and how this interest was expressed in the two remarkable studio-houses he created in London with his wife Laura and his two daughters. Laura frequently posed at home for her husband’s paintings and was also a gifted and successful artist in her own right. The exhibition includes over a dozen pictures by Laura and Alma-Tadema’s daughter Anna, highlighting the close connections between their domestic and creative lives. With this emphasis on the importance of the home and studio as a creative inspiration, the exhibition finds a perfect setting at Leighton House Museum built by Alma-Tadema’s friend and contemporary Frederic Leighton. With its extensive use of marble, gilding and mosaics, Leighton’s house contains the same palette of materials so expertly painted in many of Alma-Tadema’s pictures and allows an understanding of why Leighton, Alma-Tadema and other artists of their generation invested so much in the creation of a ‘private palace of art’. 

Don't miss your opportunity to view this consolidated collection showcasing the collective artistic talents of Alma-Tadema and his wife and daughter Anna. 

Exhibition: Alma-Tadema: At Home in Antiquity

Dates: 7 July 2017 – 29 October 2017

Venue: Leighton House Museum, 12 Holland Park Rd, London, W14 8LZ

Times: Open Tel: 020 7602 3316

Website: www.rbkc.gov.uk/almatadema

Leighton House Museum

Not only will you be able to view the first Alma-Tadema exhibition, you can tour the beautiful and unique rooms within the Leighton House Museum, such as the Arab Hall Extension adorned with a wonderful collection of tiles from Damascus and beyond. 

Located on the edge of Holland Park in Kensington, Leighton House Museum is one of the most
remarkable buildings of the 19th century. Owned and operated by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the house was the former home and studio of the leading Victorian artist, Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896). The house was built to his precise requirements combining studio space with domestic accommodation and entertaining space. Originally constructed on a modest basis, it grew to become a ‘private palace of art’ visited by many of the great artists of the day and regarded as one of the architectural sights of London.

The Silk Room on the first floor of the House had been added as a picture gallery to house Leighton's expanding collection of paintings by his contemporaries.