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Catalog Data

Subject:
Harding, Warren G (Warren Gamaliel) 1865-1923  Search this
Whistler, James McNeill 1834-1903  Search this
Harding, Florence Kling  Search this
National Zoological Park (U.S.)  Search this
Freer Gallery of Art  Search this
Freer Gallery of Art Peacock Room  Search this
United States President (1921-1923 : Harding)  Search this
Regents Smithsonian Institution  Search this
Place:
Washington (D.C.)
Date:
May 1, 1923
Category:
Chronology of Smithsonian History
Notes:
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 298, Box 1, "Local Notes," 11/22/1923, p. 2.
Annual Report for the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1923. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1925, p. 60.
Richardson Brigham, Gertrude, "Freer Collection Viewed In Private," Washington Post, 05/2/1923, p. 8.
"Sparrows Ruffle Dignity of Art Gallery Peacock," Washington Post, 08/22/1924, p. 3.
Merrill, Linda. The Peacock Room: A Cultural Biography (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1998) p. 352.
Summary:
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, donated 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.
Contact information:
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Topic:
Peafowl  Search this
Openings  Search this
New Museums  Search this
Birds  Search this
Exhibitions  Search this
Art, Asian  Search this
Art, Oriental  Search this
Art museums  Search this
Art  Search this
Data Source:
Smithsonian Archives - History Div
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sic_11883