The Peacock Room was once the dining room in the London home of Frederick R. Leyland, a wealthy shipowner from Liverpool, England. Leyland commissioned the American-born artist James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) to paint the dining room. Between 1876 and 1877, Whistler brightened the room with golden peacocks, painting every inch of the ceiling and walls to create an elegant setting in which Leyland could display his blue-and-white porcelain as well as Whistler's painting, The Princess from the Land of Porcelain. Purchased by Charles Lang Freer (1854–1919) in 1904 and installed in the Freer Gallery of Art after his death, the Peacock Room is on permanent display.

The Peacock Room online brochure explains the story behind this famous room, the relationship between patron Frederick Leyland and Whistler, and the recent three-year conservation project that restored the intricate patterns, colors, and designs of Whistler's work.