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Closed Labor Day Weekend Friday, September 4 - Tuesday, September 8 |
Established in 1878 by a talented group of artists and art patrons, the Lowell Art Association is the oldest incorporated art association in the United States. The founding members — including prominent Lowell residents Thomas Bailey Lawson, Freeman Shedd, Helen Whittier, and Rev. Horatio Wood — formed the association to “advance the study and progress of art in the city where it was formed.”
In the following decades, the Lowell Art Association held several exhibitions of its members in the Greater Lowell area, but struggled to maintain membership without a permanent headquarters. In the early 1900s, Joseph Aaron Nesmith breathed new life into the Lowell Art Association by striving to continue the legacy set by its founders.
Following the suggestion of Phillip Marden, Managing Editor for the Lowell Courier-Citizen (est. 1861), the Lowell Art Association decided to purchase the historic Whistler House, which operated as a boarding home at the time. After a public campaign, residents of the City of Lowell raised $1,000 – over $30,000 today!
With these funds, the Lowell Art Association purchased and saved the historic home from demolition, restoring and rehabilitating the historic building in 1907. In December of 1908, the Whistler House Museum of Art opened its doors as the new home of the Lowell Art Association with guest speaker Curtis Guild Jr., Governor of Massachusetts. The Lowell Sun described the opening gala as “regenerating the birthplace of James Abbott McNeill Whistler” and treating guests to “perhaps the finest art exhibit ever seen in Lowell.”
Notable members of the Lowell Art Association included: Thomas Bailey Lawson, David Neal, Mary Earl Wood, Walter Lofthouse Dean, Joseph DeCamp, Edward C. Tarbell, George Loftus Noyes, Frederick P. Vinton, Elizabeth Morse Walsh, and DeMerritt Allen Hiscoe. Works of art by these artists now grace the walls of the beautifully restored and decorated historic house.
Today, the Lowell Art Association continues to operate the Whistler House Museum of Art, maintaining a permanent art collection, organizing contemporary and historical art exhibitions, and sponsoring varied educational and community-oriented cultural programs. With a growing artist membership from around the world, the Lowell Art Association prides itself on promoting the legacy of its founders to “develop, nurture, and increase a love of, and taste for, art in all its forms among the citizens of Lowell” and beyond.
Your membership helps to support our many programs and events. Members enjoy free admission to the
Historic House and Parker Gallery, invitation to Whistler House events, and special member ticket prices.
Whistler House Museum of Art
Lowell Art Association, Inc.
243 Worthen Street
Lowell, MA 01852
Open Wed – Sat: 11 AM – 4 PM
Join the WHMA mailing list to stay up-to-date on our newest exhibits, latest lectures, innovative and creative events, and exciting member parties.
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