The Peacock Room was once the dining room in the London home of Frederick R. Leyland, a shipping magnate from Liverpool, England. Originally designed by the interior architect Thomas Jeckyll to display Leyland's extensive collection of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, the room was radically redecorated in 1876 and 1877 by the American-born artist James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), whose painting The Princess from the Land of Porcelain hung over the mantel. Although he was at first merely asked for advice about what color to paint the shutters and doors, Whistler took over and eventually transformed the entire room into a "harmony in blue and gold," adorning its shutters with gorgeous golden peacocks and painting every inch of the ceiling and leather-covered walls with a pattern of peacock feathers. Leyland was shocked by the unauthorized redecoration and refused to pay the full amount that Whistler demanded for his efforts. In response to the contentious lawsuit that ensued, Whistler painted two peacocks squabbling over a bag of coins at the far end of the room--and he never saw his masterpiece again.

American collector Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919) purchased the room in 1904 and had it reassembled in his mansion in Detroit, Michigan. Later, in 1923, the Peacock Room was moved to the Freer Gallery of Art, where it remains on permanent display.

The Peacock Room online brochure explains the story behind this famous room, the relationship between patron Frederick Leyland and Whistler, and the recent three-year conservation project that restored the intricate patterns, colors, and designs of Whistler's work.