Olson House - South Cushing, ME
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Team Yeatta !
N 43° 58.901 W 069° 16.122
19T E 478450 N 4869873
The real Christina's world from Andrew Wyeth's Painting.
Waymark Code: WM2QKQ
Location: Maine, United States
Date Posted: 12/08/2007
Published By:Groundspeak Charter Member BruceS
Views: 103

Christina's World is the most famous work by American painter Andrew Wyeth, and one of the best-known American paintings of the 20th century. Painted in 1948, this tempera work is displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It depicts Christina Olson, who had an undiagnosed muscular deterioration that paralyzed her lower body—likely Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease —dragging herself across the ground to pick vegetables from her garden. She is the subject of a number of other paintings by Wyeth (many including Christina's brother). Surprisingly, although Christina is the artistic subject of this, Wyeth's masterpiece, she was not the model -- Wyeth's wife Betsy instead posed for the painting.

The house in Cushing, Maine, where Wyeth had been staying when he saw the scene that inspired the painting, still stands, although Wyeth took artistic license in its depiction, separating the barn from the house and changing the lay of the land. Known as the Olson house, it is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Street address:
Hathorn Point Rd., E side
South Cushing, ME US
04563


County / Borough / Parish: Knox

Year listed: 1995

Historic (Areas of) Significance: Person

Periods of significance: 1925-1949, 1950-1974

Historic function: Domestic

Current function: Recreation And Culture

Privately owned?: yes

Hours of operation: From: 10:00 AM To: 5:00 PM

Primary Web Site: [Web Link]

Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]

Season start / Season finish: Not listed

Secondary Website 2: Not listed

National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.
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