Peacock in Courtyard, Freer Gallery of Art
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ID: SIA2007-0176
Creator: Unknown
Form/Genre: Photographic print
Date: c. 1930
Citation: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 02-082, Box 1, Folder: Photographs, Peacocks
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.
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.
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 02-082, Box 1, Folder: Photographs, Peacocks
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
c. 1930
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SIA2007-0176
Number of Images: 1; Color: Sepia; Size: 8w x 6h; Type of Image: Animal, candid; Exterior; Medium: Photographic print