Visit to Leighton House Museum and the National Portrait Gallery

Cost - Friends £55, Guests £70

We have put together an exciting London outing in June which will feature two marvellous museums and lunch at the London home of our President, Lady Deben.

After independent travel to London, we will assemble at Leighton House in Holland Park where the Director, Daniel Robbins, will give us an extensive private tour. During the lifetime of Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896), this lavish living, working and entertaining space came to embody the idea of how a great artist should live. It is now an inspiring museum that celebrates both his life and the world of pre-Raphaelite art. We will then travel to the home of Lord and Lady Deben for drinks on the terrace (weather permitting) and a sandwich lunch.

It is then about a 20min walk (or a short taxi ride) to the National Portrait Gallery where we have ticketed entry to the exhibition Six Lives, historic paintings by Hans Holbein and contemporary photography by Hiroshi Sugimoto. This only opens on 20 June and is NPG’s first exhibition of historic portraiture since the Gallery’s reopening, and it ties in with our own exhibition An Eye for Life: Photography by John Ferguson that opens at the Mansion on 29 June. There will then be time to enjoy the rest of the Gallery before independent travel home (or why not take in a show in nearby theatreland?)

Prices for this memorable trip are £55 for members, £70 for non-members, which includes the guided tour, access to the exhibition and the sandwich lunch with wine. Email here to book. Members of Art Fund or Members/Patrons of Leighton House or the NPG are asked to email or telephone Jean Attenborrow (01473 213025) before paying as there may be a price reduction (tbc). The full itinerary will be given after booking.

Numbers are limited, but we hope you can join us for our first London trip since 2019.