Educators: The Peacock Room

Explore the Peacock Room and its history with images compiled by the Education Department at the Freer|Sackler. Trace the changes as the Peacock Room travels from London, to Detroit, and finally to Washington, DC! For more information, please contact asiateachers@si.edu.
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See the Peacock Room in a whole new light. Visit on the third Thursday of each month from 12-5:30 when the shutters of Whistler’s “harmony in blue and gold” are open. A flood of natural light turns the Peacock Room into a glowing jewel of blue, green, and gold tones. http://www.asia.si.edu/events/allevents.asp?trumbaEmbed=eventid%3D113484020%26view%3Devent%26-childview%3D#/?i=1 F1904.61

James McNeill Whistler redecorated the room in 1876 and 1877 peacock room detail with shelves and mirror.

Listen to stories about the Peacock Room, from its creation in London to its installation in the Freer Gallery of Art. http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/american/peacock/listen.asp F1904.61

The Smithsonian is finally shedding light on James McNeill Whistler 's Peacock Room at the Freer Gallery.

Freer was so pleased with the way his ceramics looked in the Peacock Room that he hired George Swain, a local photographer, to take a series of pictures of the room in 1908. These images, now in the archives of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, formed the basis for the "Detroit" virtual tour and for the exhibition The Peacock Room Comes to America. http://peacockroom.wayne.edu/history-detroit

Freer was so pleased with the way his ceramics looked in the Peacock Room that he hired George Swain, a local photographer, to take a series of pictures of the room in 1908. These images, now in the archives of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, formed the basis for the "Detroit" virtual tour and for the exhibition The Peacock Room Comes to America. http://peacockroom.wayne.edu/history-detroit

Learn more about the Peacock Room from curator Lee Glazer. Make sure to visit before the Freer Gallery of Art's renovation from January 2016 until summer 2017! http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/current/Peacock-Room-video.asp F1904.61
Explore points of contact between Whistler and his patrons on an interactive timeline that documents the entire history of the legendary room. http://peacockroom.wayne.edu/timeline F1904.61

The Smithsonian is finally shedding light on James McNeill Whistler 's Peacock Room at the Freer Gallery.

The Peacock Room was originally intended to showcase Frederick Leyland, its first owner's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and -white porcelain. Among his 300-plus pieces were examples similar to this vessel. Known as Kangxi ware, these pots were produced in the Jingdezhen region during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). They became so popular with Victorian consumers that the press mockingly dubbed the craze "Chinamania." http://peacockroom.wayne.edu/items/show/3375 F1986.19a-b
Charles Freer met Whistler in 1890 when, on his first trip to London, he paid a call at the artist's Chelsea studio and initiated a long and fruitful friendship. With Whistler's encouragement and cooperation, Freer built the most important collection of his works in the world, including the Peacock Room, which is now a part of the Freer Gallery of Art. http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/american/whistler.asp F1904.61

blakegopnik: “ Daily Pic: An image of James McNeill Whistler’s “Peacock Room,” from recently rethought at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington. Traditionally, the Freer has used the room to.

Interested in learning more about the Peacock Room? Explore Whistler's imaginative interior at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/current/peacockRoom.asp F1904.61

James McNeill Whistler’s Peacock Room. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Inspired by the delicate patterns and vivid colors of the Chinese porcelains and the blue and gold motif of a peacock feather, Whistler commenced what became an extreme makeover of the room. He added a wave pattern on the cornice and woodwork, and he painted over the red flowers on the leather wall hangings. He felt they clashed with the delicate tonalities of his painting, The Princess from the Land of Porcelain. http://peacockroom.wayne.edu/history-london F1904.61

The Peacock Room, Freer Gallery, Washington DC. I took Maya and M'bake to see this spectacular museum. I just had to spend a few minutes sitting in the Peacock Room.

Freer purchased this ewer from the collection of Horace Allen, a Presbyterian medical missionary who traveled to Korea in 1884. Freer purchased his entire set of eighty pieces when it was offered for sale in 1907. This piece is an example of Korean celadon. In the Peacock Room it was grouped with a number of other Korean celadons and beneath a row of green, slightly iridescent Chinese funeral jars. http://peacockroom.wayne.edu/items/show/3321 F1907.288a-b

Goryeo period, late century Korea, Jeolla-do province, Gangjin or Buan county, Gangjin or Buan kilns Stoneware with celadon glaze x cm Gift of Charles Lang Freer Freer Gallery of Art

The West Wall displays iridescent Raqqa ware, named for the site in northern Syria where the ceramics originated. Viewed together, the shelves form a ceramic still life in various shades of turquoise. The West Wall displays iridescent Raqqa ware, named for the site in northern Syria where the ceramics originated. Viewed together, the shelves form a ceramic still life in various shades of turquoise. F1904.61

of the the best art photos taken in recent years, mostly close-ups

Despite the patina of grime and layers of discolored varnish—and despite the structural strain it endured in being taken apart and reassembled in London, Detroit, and Washington—the Peacock Room did not undergo significant conservation until the 1940s. John and Richard Finlayson, art restorers from Boston, dismantled the room and constructed an underlying framework for Whistler's decorations and Jeckyll's shelves. http://peacockroom.wayne.edu/history-washington

Despite the patina of grime and layers of discolored varnish—and despite the structural strain it endured in being taken apart and reassembled in London, Detroit, and Washington—the Peacock Room did not undergo significant conservation until the 1940s. John and Richard Finlayson, art restorers from Boston, dismantled the room and constructed an underlying framework for Whistler's decorations and Jeckyll's shelves. http://peacockroom.wayne.edu/history-washington

Enter digital recreations of the Peacock Room at two historical moments (Victorian London and Detroit in the Gilded Age) and learn more about the diverse Asian ceramics on its shelves. http://peacockroom.wayne.edu/visit F1904.61
At home or while visiting the Freer Gallery of Art, you can use this free interactive app for iPad and iPhone to explore James McNeill Whistler’s famed interior and to learn about its dynamic, cosmopolitan history. http://www.asia.si.edu/apps/ F1904.61

Whistler gilded the walnut latticework forming the shelves.

Invoice from Obach and Company to Charles Lang Freer, May 16, 1904 for the purchase of the Peacock Room. http://peacockroom.wayne.edu/history-detroit FSA A.01 12.2

Invoice from Obach and Company to Charles Lang Freer, May 16, 1904 for the purchase of the Peacock Room. http://peacockroom.wayne.edu/history-detroit FSA A.01 12.2

Inspired by the restoration of the room's original splendor, the Freer Gallery of Art began to acquire and display Kangxi blue-and-white porcelain from the Qing dynasty as a way to emulate, as closely as possible, Whistler's original artistic vision of the room. Over time, however, the static display of Chinese ceramics made it difficult, once again, to see the room in all its variety. http://peacockroom.wayne.edu/history-washington F1904.61
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