Art restorers John and Richard Finlayson repaired sections of the Peacock Room between 1947 and 1950. View of the north wall.
Despite the patina of grime and layers of discolored varnish—and despite the structural strain it endured in being taken apart and reassembled in London, Detroit, and Washington—the Peacock Room did not undergo significant conservation until the 1940s. John and Richard Finlayson, art restorers from Boston, dismantled the room and constructed an underlying framework for Whistler's decorations and Jeckyll's shelves. They also attempted to make cosmetic improvements by overpainting the decorations rather than by cleaning them. The team of restorers used oil paint and gold and silver leaf to retouch some surfaces, such as the shutters and the fighting peacocks. In a far cry from Whistler's original vision, they daubed greenish brown pigment on the more purely decorative areas (behind the shelves and on the wainscoting and doors), which only added to the appearance of dirty build-up.