James McNeill Whistler: Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room (1876-1877 - 1877); Freer Gallery of Art, Washington

The American painter James McNeill Whistler was no stranger to controversy. From falling out with the realist painter Courbet – because the latter had painted Whistler's mistress Jo – to suing an art critic – the Whistler vs. Ruskin case, which nearly ruined both parties – to a public clash with his friend Oscar Wilde; Whistler was at the centre of many tempests.

One of Whistler's most remarkable rows involved the wealthy shipowner Frederick Leyland, who had been establishing himself as Whistler's Maecenas, having commissioned several portraits by the painter. Leyland had asked the architect Thomas Jeckell to transform the dining room of his mansion in London into an exhibition space for his prized china collection. Focal point was to be Whistler's painting La Princesse du Pays de la Porcelaine. Jeckell had the walls of the room covered in expensive red Cordova leather embossed with red flowers. Although lavish, the combination proved to be somewhat sickening and Leyland turned to Whistler to 'harmonize the space'.

Once working on the room Whistler got carried away, not minding any conventions or financial restrictions, declaring afterwards: 'Well, you know, I just painted on.' He covered the ceiling with imitation gold leaf and a pattern of peacock feathers, gilded the shelving and embellished the shutters with plumed peacocks. The Cordova was no longer visible and all red hues had been replaced by blue and gold.

When he saw this the architect Jeckell suffered a complete mental collapse from which he never recovered. Leyland was not pleased either. He scorned Whistler for the financial liberties the painter had taken and the bizarre, uncalled for transformation of the room.

Whistler reacted: 'Ah, I have made you famous. My work will live when you are forgotten. Still, perchance, in the dim ages to come you will be remembered as the proprietor of the Peacock Room.'

...which was indeed the case. To add insult to injury, Whistler seized the last opportunity he had to access the room by painting two quarrelling peacocks, one with a brush and the other with a bag of coins, labelled: Art and Money, or, The Story of the Room.

(text: Edgar Foley)