Existing comment:
"Arrangement in Black: Portrait of F.R. Leyland," 1870-1873, by James McNeill Whistler, oil on canvas.
The Liverpool shipping tycoon Frederick R. Leyland (1831-1892) was Whistler's most important patron from 1867 until 1876, when they quarreled over Whistler's decoration of the dining room in Leyland's London home. Whistler titled the room "The Peacock Room," and it is now permanently installed at the Freer. In this majestic painting, Whistler flatters Leyland by painting him in the style of a royal portrait by the Spanish court painter Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez (1599-1660). |