Staircase panel
date: label: Date
content: 1876
name: label: Artist
content: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
notes: label: Provenance
content: From 1876 to 1892
label: Provenance
content: Frederick Richards Leyland (1831-1892), London, from 1876 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1892 to 1894
label: Provenance
content: Estate of Frederick Richards Leyland, London, from 1892 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1894 to 1904
label: Provenance
content: Mrs. James Watney (Blanche Marie Georgiana Burrell Watney), London, purchased from the Estate of Frederick Richards Leyland in 1894 [3]
label: Provenance
content: 1904
label: Provenance
content: Obach & Co., London, purchased from Mrs. James Watney, through Messrs. Brown and Phillips of the Leicester Galleries, London, in 1904 [4]
label: Provenance
content: From 1904 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Obach & Co. in 1904 [5]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [6]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] These panels were removed from a staircase in Frederick Richard Leyland's house, 49 Prince's Gate, London (see Curatorial Remark 2 in the object record). When Frederick Richard Leyland died in 1892, 49 Prince's Gate - and its contents - was offered for sale.
label: Provenance
content: Leyland's porcelains and other treasures were sold. The house - which still contained these stair panels, as well as the famous Peacock Room - did not bring a high enough offer and it was withdrawn from sale. It was finally purchased in 1894 by Mrs. James (Blanche) Watney. Upon discovering that the Peacock Room could be taken apart and reassembled, Mrs. Watney decided to sell the room. In 1903, Mrs. Watney engaged Messrs. Brown and Phillips of the Leicester Galleries in Leicester Square as agents. Unable to purchase, dismantle, and reassemble the room on their own, Ernest Brown, one of principals, enlisted the cooperation of Obach & Co., a larger gallery on New Bond Street. In 1904, Charles Lang Freer purchased the Peacock Room from Obach & Co., and soon thereafter purchased these stair panels (see Curatorial Remark 5, David Park Curry, 1984, in the object record). See also, F1904.61, Curatorial Remarks and Provenance, for more information.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [4] See note 1. Also, the exact nature of the transactions between Mrs. Watney, Messrs. Brown and Phillips of the Leicester Galleries, and Obach & Co. is somewhat unclear. Messrs. Brown and Phillips appear to have acted simply as agents for Mrs. Watney, facilitating the sale of architectural fragments of 49 Prince's Gate, from Mrs. Watney to Obach & Co.
label: Provenance
content: Obach & Co. appear to have been full owners of these pieces, having purchased them from Mrs. Watney before selling them to Freer.
label: Provenance
content: [5] See notes 1 and 4.
label: Provenance
content: [6] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Ruffled Feathers: Creating Whistler's Peacock Room (July 13, 2024 to January 21, 2027)
label: Exhibition History
content: Whistler & Japan (May 14, 1995 to January 1, 1996)
label: Exhibition History
content: James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art: Whistler as Decorator (May 11, 1984 to December 5, 1984)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: United States
topic: label: Topic
content: morning glory
label: Topic
content: United States
label: Topic
content: American Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: On View
content: West Building (Freer Gallery of Art), Gallery 11: Ruffled Feathers: Creating Whistler's Peacock Room
label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1904.472
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Oil paint and metal leaf on wood
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 51.1 x 36.8 cm (20 1/8 x 14 1/2 in)