Fundraising: Leighton's Cabinet
Leighton's Cabinet, around the world in
115 years.
This cabinet has recently returned on loan to the museum to stand
in the precise spot it occupied up until 1896. We are now seeking
your help to raise £7,000 to secure it for the permanent
collections at Leighton House.
Help us secure Leighton's cabinet for the permanent collections.
All donations will be very welcome via our justgiving
page, or download our donation
form [PDF] (file size 970Kb). For further
information please call 020 7471 9153 or email museums@rbkc.gov.uk.
History
Leighton’s furniture, together with the rest of the contents of
the house, was sold at Christie’s following his death in the summer
of 1896. This beautiful cabinet sold for £86 and then vanished,
before re-appearing just over 100 years later when it came up at
auction in Melbourne, Australia in 1997.
The piece is made up of elements of a South German chest of the
late sixteenth century and possibly elements of an English chest of
drawers of a century later. These were put together and a stand
made for it probably in the 1860s or 1870s. We do not yet
know when and where Leighton acquired it.
The new owner found part of the original Leighton sale catalogue
inside one of the drawers. She wrote to the museum, enclosing a
photograph, and it was immediately recognisable as the cabinet that
appears in the photographs of Leighton’s studio standing in this
position.
This is the most important piece of Leighton’s original
furniture to have returned to the house. We urgently need your help
to keep it here permanently for the enjoyment of future generations
of visitors.