Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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160 ible 19th- and early-20th-century New England artists." The building underwent an extensive restoration in 2012, under the guidance of the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the Lowell Historical Commission. An 1858 addition to the home had added a caretaker's apartment; now, the space includes a period kitchen for visitors to enjoy—a project that earned the museum a Restoration Award from the U.S. Department of the Interior—as well as three studio in 1843, the house fell into the hands of different owners, and eventually into disrepair. Credit for the reclamation of the historic home goes to the Lowell Art Association; founded in 1878, "we're the oldest incorporated art associa- tion in the country," says Bogosian. The association made the house its headquarters, reopening the building to the public in 1908 with an array of distinguished artworks that a 1908 Lowell Sun article called "perhaps the finest art exhibit ever seen in Lowell." Many of the paint- ings on display—created by local and international artists like John Singer Sargent, Mary Earl Wood, William Paxton, and James McNeill Whistler—can still be found in the Whistler House Museum today. Over time, the Lowell Art As- sociation developed the Whistler House into a museum that cel- ebrates the artistic legacy both of Whistler and of Lowell itself, gath- ering period furnishings, rugs, and art pieces from private collectors; much of the current collection was donated by patron and art collector Theodore Edson Parker. A special exhibition highlights the work of Arshile Gorky, known in the art world as the father of Abstract Expressionism. And, of course, works by Whistler feature promi- nently in the room where the artist is thought to have been born—a variety of etchings highlight the art- ist's fine touch. While the original Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 hangs in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, France, the Whistler House Museum boasts an original copy painted by Edith Fairfax Daven- port, a cousin of Whistler's. "We're proud to display works by artists whose paintings are found in major museums around the world," says Bogosian, "as well as many incred- spaces, available to local artists. "We plan to reclaim the rest of the addition to add a café and gift shop," Bogosian says. Previously unused rooms on the third floor show promise—one, a spacious studio with a view of Lowell's historic textile mills, serves as a workspace for the artist in residence; the other Bogosian hopes to transform into the Whistler Nursery and Library. In recent years, under Bogosian's direction, the museum has made its way onto the national and inter- Period furnishings dignify the dining room. President and director Sara Bogosian has helmed the house's recent restoration.