Andrew Wyeth’s most famous piece of art, Christina’s World, is renowned as being one of the most famous of American portraits for its realistic depiction of a classic New England setting and a steadfast mysterious female with a deep background. Along with Wyeth’s rise to prominence, Christina’s World was his introduction into the “evolution of his own private language of metaphor.” As positioned in the painting, Christina lays where the painter first recognized her steadfast ambition, explaining, that she "was limited physically but by no means spiritually." Art historians vary among their opinions on what type of art movement is present in the piece, some refer the painting as being magical realism with its attention to detail, while others
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Painted in 1948, Christina’s body was common in the period after World War II as veterans were returning from war with their own handicaps. This “heightened awareness” gave spectators a sense of normality when gazing upon her frail figure which was quickly beginning to stand for “heroic suffering” with the return of the soldiers. Nevertheless, during the 1950s, there was a social stigma surrounding the people who were penniless and handicapped, often seen as subhuman, people would look down at Christina in disgust. Only one year after finishing the painting, the Polio epidemic took hold of the American population, sending parents into a state of panic for the wellbeing of their children. Incidentally, Wyeth’s son was only two at the time of the terror, leading to Christina representing the fear he, as a parent, had been feeling towards the threat of Polio. Another consequence of World War II was the boom in prosperity during the 50s, with the affluence of the rising middle class and a mushrooming of consumerism. However, Christina’s World is a conscious step away from the post-World War II consumerism, depicting a time in which yeomen farmers dominated. Historians believe that Wyeth considered the Olson family to be an example of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, in which obtaining American individualism comes with hard work and exertion. The Olson family ties back to this idea as both of Christina’s parents had died, leaving her and her brother alone to struggle with poverty and
Painted in 1948, Christina’s body was common in the period after World War II as veterans were returning from war with their own handicaps. This “heightened awareness” gave spectators a sense of normality when gazing upon her frail figure which was quickly beginning to stand for “heroic suffering” with the return of the soldiers. Nevertheless, during the 1950s, there was a social stigma surrounding the people who were penniless and handicapped, often seen as subhuman, people would look down at Christina in disgust. Only one year after finishing the painting, the Polio epidemic took hold of the American population, sending parents into a state of panic for the wellbeing of their children. Incidentally, Wyeth’s son was only two at the time of the terror, leading to Christina representing the fear he, as a parent, had been feeling towards the threat of Polio. Another consequence of World War II was the boom in prosperity during the 50s, with the affluence of the rising middle class and a mushrooming of consumerism. However, Christina’s World is a conscious step away from the post-World War II consumerism, depicting a time in which yeomen farmers dominated. Historians believe that Wyeth considered the Olson family to be an example of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, in which obtaining American individualism comes with hard work and exertion. The Olson family ties back to this idea as both of Christina’s parents had died, leaving her and her brother alone to struggle with poverty and