A portrait of the Holland Park Circle

Addison Road has one of London’s most remarkable lists of former residents. When building began in the 1820s, Holland Park stood on the western edge of London. This rural location meant the road could be lined with detached villas and semi-detached pairs of houses. Most were given classical facades, with stucco fronts and elegant porches, while a new church dedicated to St Barnabas was constructed in the Tudor Gothic style.

The road was named after Joseph Addison (1672-1719), the essayist, poet and politician who founded The Spectator magazine alongside Richard Steele. Over the years it attracted several celebrated inhabitants, such as Sir Ernest Debenham, of the famous department stores. He built the striking Debenham House (No.8), which blends Arts and Crafts architecture with Byzanto-Italianate decorative details.

Other residents have included John Galsworthy, the novelist and playwright (No.14); Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel (No.67), and David Lloyd George, the Prime Minister during the First World War (No.2).

To begin with, No.49 had various professional occupants, including a former member of the Indian civil service named John Grimes Ford and a chancery barrister called John Forbes. However, in 1891, it was acquired by the painter Herbert Gustave Schmalz.

By this point Holland Park was a popular neighbourhood for artists. The detached houses with spacious gardens meant they could build workshops and studios, imitating the French model where a painter’s studio was a public attraction. In the spring and summer months, the artists would host an open house each Sunday, with people travelling across London to visit the spaces and preview their work.

The artists in this neighbourhood were known as the Holland Park Circle. They included the celebrated architect William Burges; the famous sculptor Hamo Thornycroft; and Lord Frederic Leighton, whose home became the Leighton House Museum. In addition, the now-demolished Little Holland House hosted the artistic salons of the cultured Prinsep family, while their lodger was the symbolist painter George Frederick Watts.

The artists in this neighbourhood were known as the Holland Park Circle. They included the celebrated architect William Burges; the famous sculptor Hamo Thornycroft; and Lord Frederic Leighton, whose home became the Leighton House Museum. In addition, the now-demolished Little Holland House hosted the artistic salons of the cultured Prinsep family, while their lodger was the symbolist painter George Frederick Watts.

Herbert Gustave Schmalz was a member of this circle. He was born near Newcastle in 1856, where his father was the Prussian Consul, while his mother was an Englishwoman named Margaret Carmichael. As a young man he moved to London for his artistic studies, first at South Kensington Art School, and later at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Schmalz built his reputation as a history painter. He was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, in particular his friend William Holman Hunt, one of its leading members. Another influence was orientalism – the romanticised version of the East popular during this period – which featured in the work of painters like Frederic Leighton, Schmalz’s friend and neighbour. In 1890 Schmalz even travelled to Jerusalem, where he made several paintings of scenes from the New Testament.

The following year, he moved into Addison Road, filling the house with Persian and Indian carpets. He also built the large studio at the rear of the property, where he increasingly worked on portraits, leading to a solo exhibition in 1900 at the Fine Art Society in Bond Street. He also exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Grosvenor Gallery, and many other respected addresses. His work remained popular during his life, but after the First World War he adopted his mother’s surname, exhibiting as Herbert Carmichael.

By the time of his death in 1935, modern artistic movements made Schmalz’s paintings appear dated. However, he still lived at Addison Road, and his family stayed there until the Second World War. Sadly, the beautiful Turkish and Persian carpets he collected were sold at Sotheby’s, but the studio remained in place, now forming a magnificent double-height reception room. And it’s still possible to imagine the artist who spent almost half his life working in this room, surrounded by many of the Victorian era’s most celebrated painters.