Whistler House: Lowell

Colby Sedlier

Professor Julian Zabalbeascoa

FYSH Section 303

 3 September 2013

Whistler House: Lowell

            As I walked throughout the building, I could see paintings, photos and just overall works of art donned amongst the walls with each one portraying a different story, a different message. The last time I had ever visited an art museum had been several years prior to this and at that time, I was too young to appreciate what is considered to be a work of art. In my mind, being able to draw a picture of a sports team emblem, like that of the Red Sox, was a work of art. I had never heard of the words, foreground, shading, or lighting before. The most sophisticated word I had heard of, within the realm of the art world, at that time, was sketching; the use of a pencil and lightly colored lines to create an image (in my mind) But where was I? Why was I here and why did this place exist? How was this place established? I had so many questions but by the end of my visit, all were answered.

            I was told that the Whistler House in Lowell was a fantastic art museum and that it contained several works that deserved to be looked at and admired. I had no background information about this location but decided that I would be a good way to get out and explore Lowell’s history. Throughout the tour, I was informed about the building, how it came about, and also, about James Whistler himself. The museum was originally James Whistler’s residency while he lived in Lowell. He was a well-known painter and artist and because of this, his living space was chosen to be established into the Whistler Museum of Art that it is today. After learning this, I expected the works of art within the museum to be originals or at least copies of his work but was shocked to hear that the paintings on the walls did not contain his name. There were only sketches of Whistler’s work in the museum but they were located in a separate room dedicated to him. Despite there not being paintings by Whistler, I learned that the museum contained works solely revolved around the city of Lowell. They explain the city’s rich artistic background as well as its beauty that you can find almost anywhere. 

            But why would Lowell incorporate such a place into its city? There are several answers to this but my answer slowly formed with each step I took inside and with each inch of artwork I examined. At first, one does not really think about the importance of an art museum. Most think that it is a place to just look at paintings and stare at the “pretty colors”. However, as my opinion formed, I knew that was not the correct answer. I believe that the museum simply adds to the city of Lowell and its purpose is to tell its story. When looking at each painting, I noticed that they illustrated Lowell from its beginning to more recently. So after visiting, I confirmed my opinion that the sole purpose of the Whistler House Art Museum is to pictorially display Lowell’s journey through history; its timeline.

            Although I visited towards the beginning of the school year, I have been able to make connections through what I have read in the novel Townie and with the images I saw within the museum. In the book, I have been exposed to Lowell and its “bad” areas and people. There has been violence, drugs, and sex throughout the entire book so far and it seems like Lowell was not the best place for a child to grow up in. From seeing the images within the museum, I was able to put the two together because through the book, I was able to form illustrations of the words in my head and compare them to those that I saw on my tour. To simply put it, they were very similar and I could even say that they were nearly identical. Overall, my experience at the Whistler House was wonderful and not only did this museum allow me to see an array of artwork, it exposed me to Lowell and explained its history to me pictorially.