The Undiagnosed Patient in Christina’s World

The iconic rural setting of premodern New England in Christina’s World lies among the most imperishable American pieces in art history. Painted in 1948 by Andrew Wyeth, the scene contrasts with the artist’s early employment of exuberant watercolors and rather implements the subdued palettes of autumn through egg tempera. The result is an incredibly textured landscape, distinguished by thousands of meticulously-brushed blades of grass forming an expansive country field, and broken only by several neglected outhouses in the distance.