I was also lucky enough to visit a room I have loved and hoped to visit for many a year. The Peacock Room by the great James McNeill Whistler at the Smithsonian's Freer Sackler Galleries. This is not just a wonderful room due to the beautiful Aesthetic Movement decor created by Whistler and amazing pottery collection housed within it, but also for the wonderfully colorful story of the room's creation. After hijacking the entire project from the architect, and after several disagreements between Whistler and the room's owner, he in fact locked himself in the room to be certain of finishing it as he desired, and nobody else. The owner Mr. Leyland was less than thrilled about this, and often fought with Whistler through the locked door before Whistler actually painted two peacocks fighting each other to represent the two men. Or at least so I have been told. I never heard what Leyland thought of the final result...
All photos courtesy of the Freer Sackler website.
For more information, visit the museum's website here.
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