Detail from The Canal, Amsterdam, 1889, James McNeill Whistler, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

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Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room
The Peacock Room at 49 Prince's Gate, photograph, 1877?, S. P. Avery Collection, New York Public Library
The Peacock Room at 49 Prince's Gate, photograph, 1877?, S. P. Avery Collection, New York Public Library
H. Dixon & Son, 'The Peacock Room at 49 Prince's Gate', photograph, ca 1890, private collection
H. Dixon & Son, 'The Peacock Room at 49 Prince's Gate', photograph, ca 1890, private collection
Photogravure after H. Dixon & Son, from Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Dec. 1890
Photogravure after H. Dixon & Son, from Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Dec. 1890
J. E. Mitchell after Whistler, 'The Peacock Room', engraving, The Art Journal, 1892
J. E. Mitchell after Whistler, 'The Peacock Room', engraving, The Art Journal, 1892
J. E. Mitchell after Whistler, 'Shutter in the dining Room', engraving, The Art Journal, 1892
J. E. Mitchell after Whistler, 'Shutter in the dining Room', engraving, The Art Journal, 1892
The Peacock Room at the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1920s
The Peacock Room at the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1920s
The Peacock Room during restoration, 1947, Freer Gallery of Art
The Peacock Room during restoration, 1947, Freer Gallery of Art
North-western corner of the Peacock Room during restoration, 1947, Freer Gallery of
Art
North-western corner of the Peacock Room during restoration, 1947, Freer Gallery of Art
North wall of the Peacock Room, ca 1980, Freer Gallery of Art
North wall of the Peacock Room, ca 1980, Freer Gallery of Art
Detail of the ceiling during the 1990s restoration, Freer Gallery of Art
Detail of the ceiling during the 1990s restoration, Freer Gallery of Art

                Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room, Freer Gallery of Art
Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room, Freer Gallery of Art

                La Princesse du pays de la porcelaine, north wall of the Peacock Room, Freer Gallery
of Art
La Princesse du pays de la porcelaine, north wall of the Peacock Room, Freer Gallery of Art
Shutters of the Peacock Room with peacock decoration, Freer Gallery of Art
Shutters of the Peacock Room with peacock decoration, Freer Gallery of Art

                Two Peacocks, from G. A. Audsley & J. Lord Bowes, Keramic Art of Japan, 1875, plate L
Two Peacocks, from G. A. Audsley & J. Lord Bowes, Keramic Art of Japan, 1875, plate L

                The Rich Peacock and the Poor Peacock, south wall of the Peacock Room, Freer Gallery of Art
The Rich Peacock and the Poor Peacock, south wall of the Peacock Room, Freer Gallery of Art
North wall of the Peacock Room, Freer Gallery of Art
North wall of the Peacock Room, Freer Gallery of Art
North-eastern corner of the Peacock Room, Freer Gallery of Art
North-eastern corner of the Peacock Room, Freer Gallery of Art
North-eastern corner of the Peacock Room, Freer Gallery of Art
North-eastern corner of the Peacock Room, Freer Gallery of Art

                Designs for the arrangement of china in the dining room at Aubrey House, British Museum
Designs for the arrangement of china in the dining room at Aubrey House, British Museum

                Peacock Designs, British Museum
Peacock Designs, British Museum

                Three Peacock shutters, New York Public Library
Three Peacock shutters, New York Public Library

                Fighting Peacocks, New York Public Library
Fighting Peacocks, New York Public Library

                Sketches of the Peacock Room, The Hunterian
Sketches of the Peacock Room, The Hunterian

                Fighting Peacocks, Glasgow University Library
Fighting Peacocks, Glasgow University Library

                Cartoon of rich and poor Peacocks, The Hunterian
Cartoon of rich and poor Peacocks, The Hunterian

                The walls of the Peacock Room, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The walls of the Peacock Room, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

                Window in the Peacock Room, Isabella Stewart  Gardner Museum
Window in the Peacock Room, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

                Peacock shutters Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Peacock shutters Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

                Fighting Peacocks, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Fighting Peacocks, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

                Sketch of the Peacock Room,  Art Institute of Chicago
Sketch of the Peacock Room, Art Institute of Chicago

                Sketch of a Peacock shutter and fighting Peacocks,  Library of Congress
Sketch of a Peacock shutter and fighting Peacocks, Library of Congress
Osborn & Mercer, The Peacock Room, sale catalogue, 1892
Osborn & Mercer, The Peacock Room, sale catalogue, 1892

Whistler was annoyed at the numerous reproductions of the Peacock Room published in 1892 after F. R. Leyland's death, such as the engraving published in the Art Journal showing the room with the porcelain in place. 1 In a letter to David Croal Thomson (1855-1930) in 1892 he proposed the publication of an album of reproductions of the room in gold and blue. 2 He also asked Thomson to send the reproductions published in June 1892 in the Pall Mall Budget to him in Paris. 3 When the Peacock Room was exhibited by Obach & Co. in London in 1904, Leyland's collection had long been sold and A. T. Hollingsworth lent Nankin porcelain to put on the shelves. It was probably this collection, and not Leyland's porcelain, which appears in the final photograph of the room in the catalogue published by Obach. 4 A set of photographs of the room, with porcelain in place, was made by Bedford Lemere (National Monuments Record), probably in 1904.

Last updated: 20th May 2021 by Margaret