I read this morning that famed painter Andre Wyeth has died at age 91. I was somewhat familar with the name, so I read the bio. I learned (maybe this is common knowledge, but not for me) that he painted the famed "Christina's World." I was not familiar with the painting's title either, so I Googled it.
Oh, THAT Painting is Christina's World. I know that painting. I clicked the links and read a few romantic reviews of the painting, but they did not change the opinion of it I have held since childhood.
It looks like a bad dream to me. Why, I wondered as a child and still wonder, is that girl so far from her house? Why does she seem to be struggling on the ground, trying to crawl back to that distant house? Did someone push her down? Her arms are skeletal; she must be starving. I imagine if I could see her face it would be contorted in fear, anguish, and hunger. Everything about that painting--the haunted house, the gray sky, the dry, wind-blown prairie, the dry, wind-blown girl--looks so ominous. Is that what Mr. Wyeth was trying to convey?
Tune in next week as I discuss the dark works of the malevolent Mr. Norman Rockwell.
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