The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art has hired Japan-based TOPPAN Inc. for a set of digital-access projects led by a virtual-reality version of James McNeill Whistler's Peacock Room. The museum announced the agreement July 1 and said the first VR simulation is scheduled for completion in early 2027.
The Peacock Room is one of the museum's signature interiors. Whistler transformed the London dining room in the 1870s, combining decorative ideas with influences from Japanese and Chinese art. TOPPAN's digital treatment is intended to do more than reproduce the room's surfaces.
The company is expected to animate objects and artworks in the space and add audio layers about the room's disputed history and other stories that cannot be presented in the same way during a physical visit. The contract also calls for digital archiving of collection objects and broader online access.
That mission has an unusual practical importance at this museum. Founder Charles Lang Freer gave his collection to the nation with a condition that its original objects remain physically at the museum. Many later acquisitions can travel, but the foundational Freer works cannot be lent to other institutions.
TOPPAN, founded in Tokyo in 1900, works across printing, packaging, electronics and digital services. The company says it has developed high-resolution VR cultural projects since 2007. The Smithsonian agreement creates a framework for additional U.S.-Japan collaboration rather than a single standalone headset experience.
The release did not name a public launch date beyond early 2027, list supported devices, describe an admission model or say whether the experience will be available remotely, inside the museum or both. For now, the concrete news is the commissioning of the project and the broader digitization partnership.