In 1876, James McNeill Whistler designed and painted an entire room around the image of peacocks. The homeowner hated it. Peacocks adorn the classic chenille bedspreads of the mid-20th century. Louis Comfort Tiffany designed the Peacock Doors at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago. Peacocks had legendary powers in the tales told of them, but it was simply their appearance that inspired the imagination. The image of a male peacock with those beautiful tail feathers has been a classic motif since the birds were first exported from India, but it was suddenly everywhere with the rise of Art Nouveau.
A true obsession with the peacock began in the British Arts and Crafts movement, then landed in France which birthed the Art Nouveaumovement. While the peacock left its mark on the gorgeous architecture, fabrics, jewelry, and furniture from that era, it never truly went away. Read about the Art Nouveau peacock and see lots of pictures at Messy Nessy Chic.
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I used to do a lot of Southwestern art for galleries and female peacocks have large red feathers that resemble red tail hawk tail feathers which were perfect for my artworks. One cannot use birds of prey feathers in crafted items and it depends on which states where even having such feathers in your possession could lead to a hefty fine. Last I checked having an eagle feather is $500,000 fine unless you are native american.
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When I was very young and my dad was in school, we lived in an old Victorian cut up into apartments. The stately house across the street had pet peacocks that wandered the neighborhood and I loved to watch them. But at dusk, they would make the awfullest noise you ever heard!
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at the zoo here in new orleans they have peacocks just walking around all willy nilly
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