Three Peacock Shutters dates from 1876. It appears to be contemporary with the painting of the shutters, and not a memory sketch of them (see Peacock shutters [M.0991] and Sketch of a Peacock shutter and fighting Peacocks [M.1603]). The shutters were part of Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room [YMSM 178].

Three Peacock Shutters, New York Public Library

Shutters in Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room, Freer Gallery of Art

According to the Academy, by September 1876 the shutters in the Peacock Room were painted with full-sized peacocks. 1 On 21 October 1876 F. R. Leyland wrote to Whistler, refusing to pay £2000 suggested by Whistler as the price for the decoration works, when he had only expected the work on the leather and ceiling to take a few days, and since he could not afford £1200 for the peacock shutters he suggested that Whistler should take them away. 2

It is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 580).