Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - Farnsworth and " Christina's World"

Sassy in the front doorway
John Olsens' clothes line
Christina Olsens' grave site
The friendly blood hound
John Olsen


The Olsen House
The red geraniums in window, painted by Andrew Wyeth
The kitchen - Christina sat in the chair to the left.

We plan to spend today at the Farnsworth Museum and the Olsen House (where Andrew Wyeth painted Christina's World and many other great pieces). Before the museum opened, we walked main street, then once again, past the studio to see if anyone was working there. It was still locked and there was no evidence of anyone. We entered the museum at 10 am and spent a good two hours there. This was the first time I had ever seen Andrew Wyeth's paintings in person. I am in awe of his impeccable deign, detail, but most of all, the ability to convey such strong emotion and feeling. I am most impressed with the watercolors. The techniques are fresh and loose, yet seem so specific to the subject matter. He paints only from life, but edits and adds elements to suit the composition. His draftsmanship is amazing. He does many drawings and studies of the subject(s) before committing to a final piece. I purchased a book from the museum that is an autobiography of most of his work. In this book, he talks a bit about each painting, sharing insight into its development or the people/places he represented. There were also other exhibits such as Nevelson, Katz, Indiana (all former or present residents of Rockland).


We decided to drive directly to the Olsen House, since we were in the "Wyeth zone". It was 15 miles to Cushing (one of the fingers off the mainland). The house was near the point. We first had out bag lunch outside, and were entertained by a large horse grazing on the property as well as a friendly blood hound. We were told that they belonged to a neighbor down the road. The Olsen House was very intriguing and was left undisturbed. The little bit of furniture left behind was so descriptive of the time and the family that lived here. Andrew Wyeth frequented the house to paint Christina and Alvero (brother and sister), as well as the house itself. There were paintings in the house hanging in the location where Andrew painted them. I found this all exciting. We took our time going through the house, taking many pictures. As I was walking towards the main door, I saw Sassy (horse) standing there. She was standing on the front stone step and her head was inside. This was hysterical. I was then told that in the afternoon, when she gets tired, she likes to stand in the doorway and rest her head on the frame.


Helga and I then got into the car to head further towards the point and the water to sketch. The bloodhound followed us as we made our way down past a few barns and large fields. At the point was a working wharf and lots to draw. We were both interested in a line of clothes blowing in the wind. A man came over to me and said "Now I've seen everything!" I chuckled, and made sure it was okay to be there. He was very friendly and accommodating. When I asked him his name, he said it was John Olsen. Well, that started a line of questions. It turns out, John is the nephew of the infamous Christina and the last born in the Olsen House. He is 87 years old and has lived and worked there his whole life, with the exception of years as a marine. He has been a lobster man for 50 years. He just wrote a book with the help of his daughter Virginia, documenting the history of his life and his family. This was such a great opportunity that we just walked into. He had just been at a birthday party with Andrew and family at one of the private islands. This segment of out afternoon ended with a memorable vision. As Helga and I were walking back to the car on the dirt road, a truck was coming towards us, pulling a trailer. As the truck passed, we saw Sassy running furiously behind the trailer (Sassy doesn't usually run). She was so excited that her buddy, who was in the trailer, was returning home. One had to be there to see the "expression" of Sassy. Helga and I burst out laughing and our hearts went out to that horse. After a long, slow day of grazing at the Olsen House, Sassy was now overjoyed that her buddy was back with her. This was truly a "Andrew Wyeth / Norman Rockwell" moment!!