Olson Field Preserve

The dark shingled Colonial house and barn perched at the top of meadows in Cushing is a common sight in Andrew Wyeth’s paintings. His most famous painting, Christina’s World, shows a particularly stark version of the house surrounded by dry fields, with Christina dragging herself up the hill toward the house. Betsy Wyeth, Andrew’s wife, described the home as “looming up like a weathered ship stranded on a hilltop.”

Andrew painted his neighbors and friends, siblings Christina and Alvaro Olson, at their saltwater farm for three decades, between 1939 and 1968. Christina suffered from degenerative muscle condition, possibly polio, but instead of using a wheelchair, she preferred to crawl, dragging her legs behind her. Wyeth has been quoted saying: “The challenge to me was to do justice to her extraordinary conquest of a life which most people would consider hopeless.”

For many years, visitors have been able to tour the house and grounds, where they can walk around the old, gnarled apple trees. A National Historic Landmark, the property is owned by the Farnsworth Art Museum.

In 2026, Georges River Land Trust created a 0.75-mile loop through the fields to the shore along mown paths. The paths are easy, with a barely noticeable descent toward the cove. If you go clockwise, you’ll first reach a lookout over a sandy, stony beach, but on our visit the steep, eroded bank prevented easy access. However, if you continue around the bend, you’ll soon reach an easy access point to a little cove within the big cove (Maple Juice Cove!), where it’s easy to walk to the water.

As you head back to the house, you’ll pass a small cemetery where Andrew and Betsy Wyeth, Christina and Alvaro Olson, and others are buried on a little promontory above the ocean.

Directions: The Olson House address is 384 Hathorne Point Road in Cushing, Maine. Park in the large lot slightly north of the house on Hathorne Point Road; it’ll be on the left just before you reach the house, down a short driveway.