diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 1b25b78..ad4a703 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -5,3 +5,5 @@ v0.11.0 (2014 Apr XX)
 
 * Added stem() function and Stems component.
 
+* Added quartileboxes() function and QuartileBoxes component
+
diff --git a/doc/fun/quartileboxes.rst b/doc/fun/quartileboxes.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..42f9af8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/fun/quartileboxes.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+quartileboxes
+=======
+
+.. function:: quartileboxes(x [;notch=false])
+
+    Visualize the distribution ``x``. If ``x`` is a matrix, visualize each column. The median of ``x`` is represented by a horizontal line inside a box extending from the 25th to the 75th percentile of ``x``. Vertical lines, called whiskers, span 1.5 times the inter-quartile range. Data outside of this range are represented as dots. If the keyword argument ``notch`` is set to ``true``, a notch is drawn around around the median to indicate the confidence of the median.
+
+Examples
+=======
+
+.. winston::
+
+    X = rand((200,10))
+    quartileboxes(X ;notch=true)
diff --git a/src/Winston.jl b/src/Winston.jl
index c67f6c9..a7deab1 100644
--- a/src/Winston.jl
+++ b/src/Winston.jl
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ export
     plot,
     plothist,
     plothist2d,
+    quartileboxes,
     savefig,
     scatter,
     semilogx,
@@ -37,7 +38,8 @@ export
     FramedPlot,
     Plot,
     Table,
-
+    
+    QuartileBoxes,
     Curve,
     FillAbove,
     FillBelow,
@@ -2033,6 +2035,155 @@ function make(self::Histogram, context::PlotContext)
     GroupPainter(getattr(self,:style), PathPainter(u, v))
 end
 
+type QuartileBoxes <: PlotComponent
+    attr::PlotAttributes
+    median::Float64
+    quartiles::(Float64,Float64)
+    iqr::Float64
+    outliers::AbstractVector
+    notch::Bool
+    width::Float64
+    n::Int64
+    position::Float64
+
+
+    function QuartileBoxes(median, quartiles, outliers, n,args...; kvs...)
+        self = new(Dict())
+        iniattr(self)
+        kw_init(self, args...; kvs...)
+        self.median = median
+        self.quartiles = quartiles
+        self.iqr = quartiles[2] - quartiles[1]
+        self.outliers = filter(x-> (x<quartiles[1]-1.5*self.iqr)|(x>quartiles[2]+1.5*self.iqr),outliers)
+        self.notch = get(args2dict(kvs...), :notch, false)
+        self.width=1.0
+        self.position = 1.0
+        self.n = n 
+        self
+    end
+end
+
+function QuartileBoxes(X::Vector;kvs...)
+    #compute median and quartiles directly
+    Xs = sort(X)
+    m = median(X)
+    l = quantile(X,0.25)
+    h = quantile(X,0.75)
+    iqr = h-l
+    QuartileBoxes(m,(l,h),X[(X.>h+1.5*iqr)|(X.<l-1.5*iqr)],length(X);kvs...)
+end
+
+function limits(self::QuartileBoxes, window::BoundingBox)
+    if !isempty(self.outliers)
+        ymin = min(self.quartiles[1]-1.5*self.iqr,minimum(self.outliers))
+        ymax = max(self.quartiles[2]+1.5*self.iqr,maximum(self.outliers))
+    else
+        ymin = self.quartiles[1]-1.5*self.iqr
+        ymax = self.quartiles[2]+1.5*self.iqr
+    end
+    xl = self.position - 1.0*self.width
+    xr = self.position + 1.0*self.width
+    bounds_within([xl,xl,xr,xr],[ymin,ymax, ymin, ymax],  window)
+end
+
+function make(self::QuartileBoxes, context::PlotContext)
+    objs = GroupPainter(getattr(self,:style))
+    xl = self.position - 0.5*self.width
+    xr = self.position + 0.5*self.width
+    xm = self.position
+
+    #draw notch
+    if self.notch 
+        xln = self.position - 0.25*self.width
+        xrn = self.position + 0.25*self.width
+        ymin = self.median-1.58*self.iqr/sqrt(self.n)
+        ymax = self.median+1.58*self.iqr/sqrt(self.n)
+        #top notch
+        p = project(context.geom, xln, self.median)
+        q = project(context.geom, xl, ymax)
+        push!(objs,LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2])))
+        p = project(context.geom, xrn, self.median)
+        q = project(context.geom, xr, ymax)
+        push!(objs,LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2])))
+        #bottom notch
+        p = project(context.geom, xln, self.median)
+        q = project(context.geom, xl, ymin)
+        push!(objs,LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2])))
+        p = project(context.geom, xrn, self.median)
+        q = project(context.geom, xr, ymin)
+        push!(objs,LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2])))
+        #median
+        p = project(context.geom, xrn, self.median)
+        q = project(context.geom, xln, self.median)
+        push!(objs,LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2])))
+        
+        #change the starting points for the quartile boxes
+        qtop = ymax 
+        qbottom = ymin
+    else
+        #median
+        p = project(context.geom, xl, self.median)
+        q = project(context.geom, xr, self.median)
+        m = LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2]))
+        push!(objs,m)
+        qtop = self.median
+        qbottom = self.median
+    end
+
+    #quartiles
+    #horizontal lines
+    p = project(context.geom, xl, self.quartiles[1])
+    q = project(context.geom, xr, self.quartiles[1])
+    l1 = LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2]))
+    push!(objs,l1)
+    p = project(context.geom, xl, self.quartiles[2])
+    q = project(context.geom, xr, self.quartiles[2])
+    l2 = LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2]))
+    push!(objs,l2)
+    
+    #vertical lines
+    p = project(context.geom, xl, qtop)
+    q = project(context.geom, xl, self.quartiles[2])
+    push!(objs,LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2])))
+    p = project(context.geom, xl, qbottom)
+    q = project(context.geom, xl, self.quartiles[1])
+    push!(objs,LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2])))
+
+    p = project(context.geom, xr, qtop)
+    q = project(context.geom, xr, self.quartiles[2])
+    push!(objs,LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2])))
+    p = project(context.geom, xr, qbottom)
+    q = project(context.geom, xr, self.quartiles[1])
+    push!(objs,LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2])))
+
+    #draw the whiskers
+    xlm = xm - 0.25*self.width
+    xrm = xm + 0.25*self.width
+    p = project(context.geom, xm, self.quartiles[1])
+    q = project(context.geom, xm, self.quartiles[1]-1.5*self.iqr)
+    l5 = LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2]))
+    push!(objs,l5)
+    p = project(context.geom, xlm, self.quartiles[1]-1.5*self.iqr)
+    q = project(context.geom, xrm, self.quartiles[1]-1.5*self.iqr)
+    l6 = LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2]))
+    push!(objs,l6)
+
+    p = project(context.geom, xm, self.quartiles[2])
+    q = project(context.geom, xm, self.quartiles[2]+1.5*self.iqr)
+    l7 = LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2]))
+    push!(objs,l7)
+    p = project(context.geom, xlm, self.quartiles[2]+1.5*self.iqr)
+    q = project(context.geom, xrm, self.quartiles[2]+1.5*self.iqr)
+    l8 = LinePainter(Point(p[1],p[2]), Point(q[1],q[2]))
+    push!(objs,l8)
+    #outliers
+    for o in self.outliers
+        p = project(context.geom, xm, o)
+        push!(objs, SymbolPainter(Point(p[1],p[2])))
+    end
+    objs
+end
+
 type LineX <: LineComponent
     attr::PlotAttributes
     x::Float64
diff --git a/src/plot.jl b/src/plot.jl
index 534aecc..1b51e3c 100644
--- a/src/plot.jl
+++ b/src/plot.jl
@@ -381,6 +381,47 @@ end
 plothist(p::FramedPlot, args...; kvs...) = plothist(p::FramedPlot, hist(args...); kvs...)
 plothist(args...; kvs...) = plothist(ghf(), args...; kvs...)
 
+quartileboxes(args...; kvs...) = quartileboxes(ghf(), args...; kvs...)
+
+function quartileboxes(p::FramedPlot, h::Matrix;kvs...)
+    for i=1:size(h,2)
+        b = QuartileBoxes(h[:,i];kvs...)
+        b.position = 1.1*b.width*i
+        quartileboxes(p,b;kvs...)
+    end
+    p
+end
+
+function quartileboxes(p::FramedPlot, h::Vector;kvs...)
+    b = QuartileBoxes(h;kvs...)
+    quartileboxes(p,b;kvs...)
+end
+
+function quartileboxes(p::FramedPlot, h::(Float64,(Float64,Float64),Vector);kvs...)
+    b = QuartileBoxes(h...;kvs...)
+    quartileboxes(p,b;kvs...)
+end
+
+function quartileboxes(p::FramedPlot, b::QuartileBoxes;kvs...)
+    #messy...
+    dd = args2dict(kvs...)
+    if :position in keys(dd)
+        setattr(b,:position, dd[:position])
+        b.position = dd[:position]
+    end
+    add(p,b)
+    for (k,v) in kvs
+        if k in [:color,:linecolor,:linekind,:linetype,:linewidth]
+            style(b, k, v)
+        else
+            setattr(p, k, v)
+        end
+    end
+
+    global _pwinston = p
+    p
+end
+
 # 3x3 gaussian
 #_default_kernel2d=[.05 .1 .05; .1 .4 .1; .05 .1 .05]