Peacock in Courtyard, Freer Gallery of Art

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Object Details

Author: Unknown
Subject: Freer Gallery of Art; Freer Gallery of Art Peacock Room; National Zoological Park (U.S.)

Category: Historic Images of the Smithsonian
: On May 1, 1923, the Freer Gallery of Art opened with a private viewing for President Warren G. Harding, Mrs. Florence Kling Harding, the Smithsonian Regents and various cabinet members. In addition to the art exhibits, the courtyard became home to three peacocks. The peacocks, lent by the National Zoological Park, resemble the decorative images in James McNeill Whistler's Peacock Room. The peacocks moved back to the Zoo in the winter for safekeeping and returned to the Freer in the spring. The peacocks remained fixtures in the Freer courtyard in the 1920s.
Summary: A peacock is in front of steps in the courtyard of the Freer Gallery of Art. Peacocks occupied the courtyard for many years. The National Zoo lent the peacocks to the Freer Gallery. The Annual Report for the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1923 notes that the peacocks were moved from the courtyard of Freer Gallery of Art to the National Zoological Park for the winter.
Contained within: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 02-082, Box 1, Folder: Photographs, Peacocks
Contact information: Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

c. 1930

Physical description: Number of Images: 1; Color: Sepia; Size: 8w x 6h; Type of Image: Animal, candid; Exterior; Medium: Photographic print

Place: United States of America, District of Columbia, Washington, Southwest, Freer Gallery of Art

Smithsonian Archives - History Div