Two for One House Tours, or, Art & the Artists, pt. 2

When I purchased my ticket for Leighton House, there was an option to add on a ticket to tour Sambourne House, which is also in the Holland Park area. It is the home of Linley Sambourne, illustrator, photographer, and cartoonist for the popular satirical magazine, Punch. The draw of this house is not so much its opulence, as it is its historical accuracy. Walking into Sambourne House is like stepping back in time to the Victorian era. There's nary an inch of the Entrance Hall that isn't covered with paintings, mirrors, photographs, cartoons and taxidermy

and the Dining Room continues the overstuffed theme.

Unlike Leighton House where the furniture and art had to be hunted down years after the artist's death, the children of Linley Sambourne purposely kept the house as it was when the Sambourne family lived there. The Dining Room opens onto the Morning Room at the back of the house. Even the ceiling is covered with pattern.

On the first floor (second for Americans) is the Drawing Room, which was the heart of the Victorian family home and which occupies the entire floor.

For many years this room doubled as Linley's studio. The main purpose of the room, though, was entertainment. The piano at the back of the room belonged to Marion (Mrs. Sambourne) who enjoyed playing and singing. In an uncharitable moment I might say that, more than anything, this room reminded me of the display room of an auction house.

Continuing up thestaircase

one comes to the Main Bedroom which offers a bit of a respite from the dark, crowded rooms below.

There's another bedroom on that floor, but it was closed for refurbishment. That room was the bedroom of Roy Sambourne, Linley's son, who was a stockbroker. His real passion, though, was for the theatre and there are a number of signed photographs of his favorite actresses on display. Oh, well - next time.

On the top floor of the house is Linley's studio.

My favorite part of the room is the incredible wallpaper. I resisted the temptation to touch it, but it reminded me of wallpapers that were on display in the York Art Gallery for the 2024 exhibition about William Morris. Early on in the history of wallpaper, the best "papers" were made of highly embossed leather. That's what this looked like.

Linley Sambourne was a founding member of the Camera Club which aimed at being "a social, scientific and artistic center for amateur photographers and others interested in art and science." Linley often took photographs on which he modeled his illustrations and cartoons.

He had never attended art school, so to make up for his lack of training in figure drawing, he hired models to pose nude in order to improve his skills. Uh huh.

It was an interesting look at the Victorian lifestyle but I wasn't left with the same feeling of awe that I felt at Leighton House. They're both worth seeing, but I would definitely recommend visiting Sambourne House first.