No Starving Artists Here

During my short stay in Kensington last spring, I enjoyed the wealth of parks in my neighbourhood: Kensington Gardens,  Hyde Park, St. James Park, Green Park. This intense city is filled with urban nature refuges, a ribbon of green space which I followed for most of my journeys of exploration.

 To the west of my temporary neighbourhood lay the Royal Burrough of Chelsea and Kensington (my poshest address yet.), A short walk along Kensington High Street and I found myself in delightful Holland Park. 

Now the historic Holland House was a disappointment. Turned out I'd arrived a bit late, as magnificent Jacobean Holland House was largely destroyed during German firebombing in 1940. I enjoyed what I found - 55 acres of deep woodland, the remains of the house and formal gardens, the sport and recreation facilities. 

The estate history is long and celebrated, so I'll leave you to have a read. My interest was piqued at learning about the dower house, itself demolished in 1871 - missed that one by a mile. 

But here the story gets interesting. Little Holland House, the dower house on the estate, was rented in 1850 by Sara and Toby Prinsep whose friend and long-time house guest was George Frederick Watts, a famous c19 artist about whom I know nothing. They were interesting people. Prinsep was an Anglo-Indian, director of the East India Company, his wife, the renowned beauty Sara was born in Kolkata, daughter of a  civil servant in Bengal.  So, fascinating background I want to read more about. Sara was an 'influencer', a 'bohemian'; she and her beautiful sisters held the Little Holland House 'salon' on Sunday afternoons. 

Painter George Frederick Watts built the first studio-house in the area which was then opening up. And so I discover, just south of the Holland Park property, a goldmine of art and architecture history, about which I knew nothing!

 Holland Park Circle and Melbury Road became an artists' enclave. This was no East Village. Here's a link and a Streetview peek at the area. A number of establishment artists of the 1800s built 'studio homes' in the area, and many still stand. Others were lost to WWII and development.  Wikipedia, bless 'em, provides a list of the famed (and to me, unknown) artists who made the area great.

Here's a keeper, an article about the Prinsep home, built after their lease expired at the dower house. It too is now lost to us, but give us a hint of the kind of places and people we're talking about.

One thing I did know. As I entered the impressive treed red-brick mansion neighbourhood, I had my sights trained on Leighton House, the second artist's studio house built in the area. 

I was hot and tired, and despairing of finding it, when I came upon a gas meter reader, whom I suspected of having good local knowledge, and I was right. English, not so much. But such a generous heart. At great effort he described how to find the place - and when we came upon each other later in the neighbourhood, he crossed the street to check that I'd found my spot. Awww. Here we are at long last at the gate to Leighton House. 

And here I will leave you with this tempting glimpse inside the studio home of the celebrated Frederick, Lord Leighton (1830-1896).