A Unique Sketch of Flaming June Returns to Frederic Leighton’s Home

Polly Sartori and Eric Weider had already forged an enduring relationship spanning almost three decades through Weider’s activities as a collector and Sartori’s career in the auction world prior to founding the Dallas/Fort Worth-based Gallery 19C in 2016. The gallery specializes in art of the 19th century, a “period from which there is truly a lot of works still to be discovered, in which the clash between traditionalist painters and the avant-garde led to artists having been forgotten over time,” say Sartori and Weider.

Quintessential late-Victorian painter Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830–1896) is “a significant example of how an artist can come in and out of fashion over decades,” says Weider. Trained largely in Frankfurt, Germany and later President at the Royal Academy of Art in London, Leighton was one of the most esteemed British artists of his time, admired for his paintings and dedication to his art. He was equally dedicated to the construction of his studio-house in London’s Holland Park, which included spaces for living, working, entertaining, and the display of Leighton’s personal collection; it came to embody the contemporary idea of how a great artist should live. Following his death, Leighton’s collection was dispersed while his home was preserved and transformed into a museum in 1900. The home is now open to the public as Leighton House, a museum dedicated to restoring the artist’s residence to its 19th-century grandeur and the return of works from Leighton’s collection.

Throughout the 20th century, interest in Victorian art declined as taste changed. Leighton’s most famed painting, and an iconic image that has transcended both itself and its creator, Flaming June (1895) shared a similar fate. The painting remained in collections until 1930, after which its whereabouts were unknown until it resurfaced on the market three decades later. It was supposedly discovered in a London home undergoing construction and sold, eventually ending up in the gallery of London art dealer Jeremy Maas. After the painting was met with little interest, it was acquired in 1963 by Luis A. Ferré for his Museou de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico, for only £2,000. Now in the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico, Flaming June is one of the museum’s highlights and one of the most beloved works from its collection.

Whilst the painting found its place in the museum’s collection, Leighton’s preparatory oil sketch for the work returned to the artist’s former home where it now once again resides after having been presented by Gallery 19C at TEFAF Maastricht in 2023. Until then, the sketch had only passed through three collections. It was first owned by musician Sir George Henschel, who came into possession of the sketch directly through the artist, and most recently, by John Schaeffer, who was a dedicated Australian collector of 19th-century British art. Measuring smaller than a postcard, the Study for Flaming June (c. 1895) exemplifies Leighton’s process, which was controlled and methodical. “His process is one of the most defining elements about him as an artist,” says Daniel Robbins, senior curator at Leighton House. “While there are some exceptions, overall, he rigorously followed the same process—from his earliest works to his very last. The idea of a painting would come to him fully formed in his visual imagination. Leighton would then proceed to execute a thumbnail sketch, followed by various drawn studies, focusing on elements such as the figure and draperies, as well as the full image. Once the composition was defined, he made a small color sketch in oil.” In these sketches, Leighton established the atmosphere and color harmony of the work, and the finished painting would rarely deviate from them.

In the sketch for Flaming June, vibrant reds, oranges, and blues in impasto unveil defining features of the painting, such as the idealized reclining woman and the glistening effect of the sun on the ocean. “However, interestingly enough, there are two differences between the oil sketch and the final painting, giving additional insight into the making of the image,” shares Robbins. “In the color sketch, there is an island at the horizon which was painted over in the painting. Equally, the awning at the top of the image in the sketch indicating a light breeze became straight-edged, mirroring the line of the parapet below. It is very unusual to find these changes made at this late stage in Leighton’s process.” Leighton’s oil sketches also show another facet of his abilities as an artist, Robbins explains. “With his final paintings being so finished and the sketches having been rapidly painted to establish color and composition, the sketches are very expressive and spontaneous—I believe they suggest his technical ability to paint in a very immediate and confident way.”

While the sketch had been admired throughout its presentation at TEFAF Maastricht, the acquisition of the work happened towards the end of the fair. “On the final day I received a call from a former colleague of mine, [art dealer] Martin Beisly, who expressed interest in the work on behalf of one of his clients,” shares Sartori. “We started to talk, and within about an hour they decided to acquire the sketch. At this point, we had no idea yet where the sketch would eventually end up.”

It came as a complete surprise to Robbins when he learned that the sketch had been acquired by Sir David Verey CBE, chairman of The Friends of Leighton House, who intended to gift it to the museum. The building had just gone through its most recent award-winning refurbishment, which included the creation of a display in a new wing, focusing on themes that defined the artist’s life, allowing new visitors a sense of who Leighton was. “The oil sketch of Flaming June was high on our wish list, as it would give visitors that immediate sense of recognition. We had thought of trying to borrow it from Gallery 19C, but unfortunately, as we were working towards the delivery of the refurbishment and all that this entailed, we settled for another sketch from the permanent collection,” says Robbins. “I hadn’t shared anything with David regarding our wish for the display. One day, he invited me to meet him at Martin’s gallery. The little color sketch was brought out and David announced that he had bought it and planned on giving it to the museum. It was truly unbelievable.”

Sartori and Weider also emphasize this feeling, the oil sketch of Flaming June having been the first artwork Weider acquired while transitioning from collecting to establishing the gallery: “If you had asked us when we acquired the work where we hoped it would end up, it surely would have been Leighton House. The work now being part of the collection is a dream and the pinnacle of what we do as a gallery.”

The color sketch is the centerpiece of a new display at Leighton House marking its acquisition and the loan of Flaming June itself to the Royal Academy in London from February 17, 2024 through January 12, 2025 “I hope visitors take away from our new display a better sense of who Leighton was, what he created, and his place and role within the Victorian art world of his time. His story tells that of the artist’s status transforming from a peripheral figure to being recognized as a valued and honored person in society. From their visit to the house, I hope they take away the sense of experiencing it as an extension of Leighton’s creativity, which equally adds to the repositioning of the artist and the creation of identity through space.”