Andrew Wyeth and His Models: The Olsons
Andrew Wyeth was introduced to Christina Olson and her brother Alvaro by their neighbor and
Andrew’s future wife, Betsy James. Christina, whose legs were permanently disabled, managed
with her brother to eke out a meager living on their dilapidated farm near Cushing, Maine. Over
a 30 year period, Andrew Wyeth created hundreds of drawings and paintings of the Olsons,
especially Christina.
For the artist, the Olson house and farm were synonymous with Alvaro and Christina’s
personalities and character traits. He often substituted objects for their forms as seen here in
Doorway, Study for Christina Olson. Wood Stove is a portrait of the room where Christina spent
most of her time and it features some of the objects Wyeth most associated with her: the wood
stove she used for cooking, the chair she used to scoot around the room, and her red
geraniums. Although Christina is present, she is merely one of the objects.
Alvaro and Christina was completed after Alvaro’s and Christina’s deaths in the winter of 196768. The artist again uses their house as a final tribute to his long-time friends and models. The
weather-beaten blue door symbolizes Christina; the buckets and other tools represent Alvaro.
Scarred and worn, but still standing, the house symbolizes the Olsons’ difficult lives as well as
their constant strength of spirit.
Andrew Wyeth and His Models: Helga Testorf
Following the deaths of Christina and Alvaro Olson, Andrew Wyeth was at a crossroads in his
career. While looking for inspiration, he met Helga Testorf, a Prussian immigrant who had
survived the fall of Germany in World War II. She was a married woman in her early 30s with
four children, working as a nurse to support her family. Helga consented to pose with her
husband’s permission and became Andrew’s primary model for the next fifteen years. Because
the Helga series was a completely new artistic direction, the artist kept the pictures a secret
from everyone, including his family, before finally revealing the series in small increments
starting in 1985.
Andrew Wyeth considered the Helga series (over 200 drawings, watercolors and tempera
paintings), to be one work of art, comprised of many parts. Such intensive study allowed him the
freedom to represent Helga’s form, moods, and expressions on a completely different level than
previous models. The most significant difference between Helga and other models like Christina
Olson was that Andrew never substituted objects for her. Helga’s body is always present in
some form.
In these three works, Helga is wearing a loden coat purchased on a visit to Germany. The coat
reminded her of one she wore as a child in Prussia and it is featured regularly in the series. In
The Prussian, our attention is focused on the details of the coat as well as Helga’s signature
braids. In the Orchard portrays Helga standing against a tree, which symbolized youth and
vitality for the artist.
Andrew Wyeth and his Models: A Finale
Andrew Wyeth seldom painted a model just once. He got to know each of them; many were
close personal friends and he chronicled their lives in his drawings and paintings. Walter
Anderson, featured in the paintings Turkey Pond and Young Fisherman and Dory, met Andrew
Wyeth when he was only a teenager. Six years younger than the artist, they shared a rebellious
streak as well as a love for the sea and the Maine coastline. Their friendship and artistic
relationship lasted until Walt died at age 67. That was how most of Andrew Wyeth’s
relationships with his models ended.
Bareback features Pam Cowe, the nurse hired to take care of Andrew while he recovered from
a hip operation in 1980. Small, blond, and in her 30s, Pam was a temporary replacement for
Helga until the artist was again able to travel to the private location where he painted her.