A proponent of the “art for art's sake” philosophy who was known for his tonal harmonies and elegant sense of design, the American expatriate artist James McNeill Whistler here deploys his cutting wit to caricature his patron Frederick R. Leyland (1831-1892), a British shipping tycoon. In 1876, Whistler transformed the dining room of Leyland's London townhouse into Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room (Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.). Disagreements about the project—particularly its cost—ruptured the relationship between artist and patron.

After suing the English art critic John Ruskin for libel in 1877, Whistler was forced to file for bankruptcy, and Leyland was his chief creditor. The Gold Scab depicts Leyland as a hideous peacock astride Whistler's house, and mocks his miserliness, piano skills, and habit of wearing frilled shirts (hence, “frilthy lucre”). Menacingly, Whistler's butterfly monogram bears a barbed tail poised to strike at Leyland's neck.