Curiosity Untamed: Kensington Kicks

Monday 9 October 2017

Kensington Kicks

Leighton House Museum

Holland Park

Squirrels, I love them. Jane calls them vermin

Design Museum

Cute kids clothes on the high street

Balenciaga exhibition

Balenciaga exhibition, learning
how to make a one seam coat

Balenciaga exhibition trying
out the cape dress

Harrods Christmas Shop

Kensington is the chosen destination for today's activities and we cover a lot of ground:

The Muffin Man - a quaint tea shop
Leighton House Museum - former home and studio of the leading Victorian artist, Lord Leighton
Holland Park - with Kyoto gardens and squirrels
Design Museum - all space age and showing the evolution of products we use every day
Victoria and Albert Museum - new entrance, Balenciaga exhibition and netsuke (one of our current obsessions based on the book The Hare with Amber Eyes)
Harrods - mecca of all tourists

Highlights included:

photo shoot at Holland Park terraces
making a one seam coat out of paper at Balenciaga exhibition
shopping for Christmas decorations at Harrods

Gotta dash we have planning to do for our date with two important Aussies.

Update from Leighton House exhibition

One of the many surprises from today was an exhibition by Alma Tadema, a Victorian artist. Jane spotted a portrait that she knew she had seen a programme about. It was by Tadema of his engraver, Léopold Lowenstam and was brought along to Antiques Roadshow by one of the engravers descendants.

The portrait has been described by the Antiques Roadshow’s pictures expert as one of the “best pictures we have ever seen on the Roadshow in its entire history”, and is believed to have received one of the show’s highest valuations.

Watch the Antiques Roadshow clip http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p048nqjz

1 comment:

Catherine28 January 2018 at 16:05
Post holiday reading of the Leighton House Museum book by Daniel Robbins and I learn about the efforts Lord Leighton put into building his house and collections. A lot of his collections and own art works where sold (as instructed) after his death in 1896. Then some enterprising committees, historians and volunteers in the ensuing 100 years have gradually brought the house back to as close to original condition as possible. A fascinating story in itself. One of the pieces was a two door cabinet that some how ended up in Australia for close to 100 years. More details at the bottom of this page.
https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/subsites/museums/leightonhousemuseum/collections/recentacquisitions.aspx
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