Andrew Wyeth, Christina's World, 1948

Andrew Wyeth was inspired to paint Christina's World (1948) after witnessing his friend and neighbor, Christina Olson, crawl across a field.  Christina suffered from polio which paralyzed her lower body.  Though Christina was Wyeth's inspiration, his wife Betsy modeled for the painting (Christina was in her 50s when this was painted, Betsy in her mid 20s).

This emotional intensity is not uncommon in Wyeth's work, which took on a particularly introspective and melancholic atmosphere after the death of his father in 1945.  His father was N.C. Wyeth, a famous illustrator who taught Andrew how to paint at a young age.

Christina's World is painted with tempera paint, a craft Wyeth was taught by his brother in law, Peter Hurd, who was a participant in the revival of tempera painting in the United States in the 1930s. Tempera is a fairly involved process; Wyeth liked it for its required craftsmanship and its lasting high quality results.  Tempera paint dries quickly and allows the artist to layer color without blending it, an effect seen in the highly detailed blades of grass surrounding Christina's limp body.

Though the initial critical response to Christina's World was quiet, the curator of the Museum of Modern Art (New York) purchased it almost immediately after its creation for $1,800.

Art:
Museum of Modern Art, New York