Whistler's Peacock

The painter’s masterpiece of interior design has been restored to its original glory and is on display at the Smithsonian.

- Daniel Avery

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MORE than a century, James McNeill Whistler’s Peacock Room, considered one of the great masterpieces of interior decorative art, can be seen as the artist originally intended it, now that the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art has restored the iconic installation to its original splendor.

The room, Whistler’s only existing decorative interior, began life more than 140 years ago as the London dining room of British shipping magnate Frederick Leyland. The American artist’s first major patron, Leyland wanted his home in Kensington “to be a palace of art to match his cultural standing,” says curator Lee Glazer, director of Colby College’s Lunder Institute for American Art.

The commission for the room had originally been given to architect Thomas Jeckyll, who was sidelined by illness. Whistler, who was working on another part of the house, volunteered to complete it. But he convinced Leyland to stay away, and went about completely redesigning the space.

“He sends Leyland letters, telling him, ‘I’m transforming your dining room. It’ll be a gorgeous surprise!’” Glazer tells Newsweek. “But he never said exactly what he was doing. And he didn’t tell Leyland that he was inviting members of the press to see what he was up to.”

To showcase Leyland’s collection of delicate blue-and-white Kangxi porcelain from 17th-century China, Whistler covered every inch of the walls and ceiling in Prussian blue and gold, crafting intricate patterns resembling peacock plumage. He even painted over 6th-century leather hangings Jeckyll had selected for the room so they wouldn’t clash with Whistler ’s own 1864 painting, “ The Princess from the Land of Porcelain,” which was hung prominently over the fireplace.