Did you know iconic Andrew Wyeth painting features woman with Polio?
Posted by Michael Mullin
on May 04, 2011
Among the most famous works of art of all United States artists, iconic Wyeth painting features Christina in 1948 – but upper torso model is actually Andrew’s wife. But did you know the subject had polio? That is the reason she was crawling across the field in Maine. When you look at the Andrew Wyeth painting titled, Christina’s World, what comes to mind? You’ve probably encountered this painting dozens of times but have you stopped to think about why the woman strikes the pose she does? The rather surprising answer, if you didn’t know, is she has polio. It was common in 1948 for thousands and thousands of people in the United States to not only have polio, but to die from it.
Our Rotary Foundation – which uses the pronoun us and not they – is
working to eliminate this crippling disease from the face of the earth.
The disease is now present in only 3 countries but the Centers for
Disease Control tells us if it’s present in just one location the world
is not safe from it. It could quickly reappear as a worldwide epidemic
and all of Rotary’s work for the last quarter century would be in vain.