The Princess and the Peacocks Or, the Story of the Room

Merrill, Linda; Ridley, Sarah

ISBN 10: 1562823280 ISBN 13: 9781562823283

Publisher: Hyperion, 1993

Synopsis

In this tale of art history set in Victorian England, American artist James McNeill Whistler transforms Frederick Leyland's dining room into the Peacock Room, complete with Whistler's painting The Princess from the Land of Porcelain.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

When James McNeill Whistler finds his portrait of a princess in ``dismal surroundings'' in Frederick Leyland's dining room, Leyland agrees to let him redecorate--if he doesn't touch the costly leather wall covering. Whistler paints golden peacocks on blue to harmonize with the portrait and Leyland's fine porcelain. When Leyland sees it, he's horrified but agrees to let him go on; in the result, now at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery (the book's co-publisher), the ceiling is adorned with feathers and even the precious leather is gold and blue. Merrill, a curator at the Freer, knows her subject (she's writing the room's history), but having the portrait narrate adds little, while more information would be welcome (who is this princess? why is she in Leyland's dining room?). The illustrations are least satisfactory: though the characters are lively and Dixon suggests the beauty of Whistler's decorative details, two photos reveal the austere elegance of the room's lines, the opulence and delicacy of his ornamentation, and the exquisite composition of his portrait-- none of which are conveyed in these watercolors. Still, a remarkable true story. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

This ambitious story chronicles the endeavors of celebrated artist James McNeill Whistler to redecorate the room containing one of his most beautiful paintings, La Princesse du Pays de la Porcelaine (The Princess from the Land of Porcelain) . Told through the voice of the painting's subject, the prevailing attitude of the time--the delineation between fine and applied art is so fine as to be virtually nonexistent--is handily conveyed. (Though the relating of the actual decorating process is somewhat misleading in its simplicity.) Whistler's enigmatic personality, too, emerges to a point--though this will be of scant concern to the picture book set. Indeed, this admirably intentioned and handsomely executed book seems to lie beyond the grasp of the target audience, even allowing for some stretching of that audience's interest. Dixon's resplendent watercolors--somewhat reminiscent of the work of Graham Rust--display a painterly quality that offers additional insight into the creative process. Ages 5-9.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hyperion
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 1562823280
• ISBN 13: 9781562823283
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Illustrator: Dixon Tennessee