Whistler Peacock Room London

Before the peacock room became a work of art by whistler it was the dining room in the london home of frederick leyland a shipping magnate from liverpool.

Whistler peacock room london.

For the first time in more than a century james mcneill whistler s peacock room can be seen as the artist originally intended it now that the smithsonian s freer gallery of art has restored the. History the peacock room was originally designed as a dining room in the townhouse located at 49 prince s gate in the neighbourhood of kensington in london and owned by the british shipping magnate frederick richards leyland. Leyland engaged the british architect richard norman shaw to remodel and redecorate his home. Whistler s most splendid claim to be king of the aesthetes was the peacock room an opulent dream place in blue and gold that he created for london art collector frederick richard leyland today.

The story of the beautiful connects virtual tours of the peacock room to places and faces associated with its dynamic cosmopolitan history from its controversial creation in victorian london by the expatriate american artists james mcneill whistler 1834 1903 to its subsequent use as an aesthetic laboratory in detroit by the gilded age collector and industrialist charles lang freer 1854 1919 who founded of the freer gallery of art the first art museum of the smithsonian institution.