Whistler House Museum of Art

In 1834 Anna Mathilda (McNeill) Whistler, wife of the local agent for the Locks and Canals Corporation, gave birth to future artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903). The coming of the railroad made locks and canals less important, and the Whistlers moved away from Lowell in 1837. Young James went on to become one of America’s greatest 19th-century painters. Whistler’s birthplace, built in 1823, is now the home of the Lowell Art Association. It contains a permanent collection of the artist’s works, and hosts exhibits of works by his contemporaries and modern New England artists. Outside, an 8ft bronze statue of the artist, completed by sculptor Mico Kaufman, is the centerpiece of the Whistler Park and Gardens. Whistler House is on the west side of the Merrimack Canal, two blocks west of the Market Mills Visitors Center.