Christina's World

Painted in 1948 by American artist Andrew Wyeth, Christina’s World stands as one of the most iconic works of mid-20th-century American art. Executed in egg tempera on gessoed panel, the painting depicts a woman lying in a wide, open field, gazing toward a distant gray house. This mysterious and emotional image is rooted in reality—its subject, Anna Christina Olson, suffered from a degenerative muscular disorder that left her unable to walk. Refusing to use a wheelchair, she would crawl across the fields around her home in Cushing, Maine, where Wyeth spent his summers. Though Olson inspired the painting, Wyeth used his wife Betsy as the model for the torso. The house in the background, known as the Olson House, became a National Historic Landmark and remains a symbol of quiet endurance. Initially overlooked by critics, the painting was purchased by MoMA's founding director Alfred Barr and gradually became a beloved American treasure. Christina’s World has since permeated pop culture—from literature and music to television and film—cementing its status as a profound reflection of resilience, isolation, and the human spirit.