On Saturday, June 11, the Farnsworth Art Museum (www.farnsworthmuseum.org) in Rockland, Maine, will open a major exhibition in the museum's Wyeth Center, entitled Andrew Wyeth, Christina's World and the Olson House. The show is scheduled to run through October 30, 2011.

The timing of the new exhibition is significant, in that it marks the twentieth anniversary of the Farnsworth's acquisition of the Olson House, which has been recommended to be named a National Historic Landmark in 2011. The exhibition will feature watercolors and drawings depicting Alvaro and Christina Olson and the Cushing, Maine house in which they lived. The focus will be on their lives at what has become known as the Olson House as seen through the eyes of American master Andrew Wyeth.

The exhibition's works not only will include interior and exterior views of the house and the surrounding site - captured in Wyeth's iconic painting Christina's World which hangs at the Museum of Modern Art and will not be a part of this exhibition due to conservation concerns - but also preparatory drawings for the famed work. Thirty-eight of the featured watercolors and drawings are on loan from the collection of the prestigious Marunuma Art Park in Asaka, Japan.

According to Christopher J. Brownawell, Director of the Farnsworth Art Museum, the exhibition will offer the visitor the unique opportunity of experiencing the Olson House through the eyes of Andrew Wyeth, as well as a chance to explore the very house that inspired him for over three decades. Andrew Wyeth, Christina's World and the Olson House is organized by Farnsworth Chief Curator Michael K. Komanecky, with a fully illustrated catalogue published by the Farnsworth Art Museum in association with Skira Rizzoli Publications, Inc.

The exhibition opening will be celebrated on Friday, June 10, at a members-only preview and reception from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the museum's Wyeth Center at the corner of Union Street and Grace Street, in Rockland.

The primary media sponsor for this world-class exhibition is Down East magazine, books and online. The exhibition also is made possible in part through the generous support of the following lead sponsors: Tina and Joe Pyne; Arete Foundation/Betsy and Ed Cohen. Additional exhibition support was provided by Mr. Richard Gilder and Ms. Lois Chiles; Mrs. F. Eugene Dixon; Mr. and Mrs. George Twigg III.