After several months of closure, James McNeill Whistler’s celebrated Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room has been restored to its former glory at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Created by Whistler between 1876–77, the Peacock Room was originally commissioned for the dining room of Whistler’s patron, Frederick Leyland, before it was purchased by the American industrialist Charles Lang Freer in 1904. After reinstalling the room in his Detroit home, Freer used the space to house his collections of ceramics. Many of these works have now returned to display, including a vase from Pewabic Pottery in Detroit, which was donated to the museum upon Freer’s death. Find out more on the Smithsonian’s website.
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Peacock Room. Courtesy Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives