Model in Andrew Wyeth's Painting had Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease

Published Online: Monday, May 16, 2016

Ruth Hickman, MD

The iconic painting, “Christina’s World,” hangs in the Modern Museum of Art in New York. The 1948 work by Andrew Wyeth shows a young woman in a field. She looks toward a bleak farmhouse in the distance, her legs bent at an odd angle beneath her as she props herself up on emaciated arms. The painting helped launch Wyeth’s commercial career and made the model, Christina Olson, famous in the world of modern art. Speaking May 6th at the 23rd annual Historical Clinicopathological Conference at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a medical expert has declared that Wyeth’s model probably had the rare neurological condition, Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT). The Conference focuses on examining diagnoses of historical figures like Lenin, Darwin, and Lincoln. Dr Marc Patterson, a professor of neurology, pediatrics, and medical genetics at the Mayo Clinic, gave the talk.

Anna Christina Olson

Wyeth’s friend and neighbor, Anna Christina Olson, was the model for the figure’s lower body in “Christina’s World.” (Wyeth used his wife, Betsy, as his model for the torso.) Olson lived on the farm pictured in the painting in Cushing, Maine. She had a muscular disorder and regularly crawled across the farm without a wheelchair. Wyeth first met her in 1939. He studied and painted her several times during her difficult life until she died in 1968 at the age of 74. Although Olson never received a formal medical diagnosis, many people speculated that she might have had polio. 

The diagnosis: CMT

Dr Patterson reviewed what was known about Olson’s medical history and studied all of Wyeth’s paintings of her, including “Christina’s World.” Speaking at the Conference, Dr Patterson explained that an early onset form of CMT disease was the most likely diagnosis. Unlike polio, which usually causes symptoms relatively rapidly but then doesn’t worsen, Olson had gradual onset of symptoms. Her disease first affected her feet, causing her to walk on the outer sides of her feet. Though she fell frequently, she could walk without aid until her 20s, around the time her hands began showing signs of weakness as well. In her 50s she was burned while sleeping near a stove, pointing to difficulties with pain sensation. She was also born several years before the major polio outbreaks, making polio unlikely. Dr Patterson also noted that the combination of motor and sensory problems make muscular dystrophy unlikely. In a press release, Dr Patterson said, “This was a fascinating case. This painting has long been a favorite of mine, and the question of Christina’s ailment was an intriguing medical mystery. I think her case best fits the profile of [CMT].” Dr Patterson was given the diagnostic challenge by the founder and organizer of the conference, Dr Philip Mackowiak, a History of Medicine Scholar-in-Residence at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Calling the work “an amazing piece of detective work,” he said, “It brings home the fact that medicine has learned enormous amounts in the past few decades.”

About Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease

Named for the three doctors who first described it, CMT refers to a closely related group of disorders that affect the peripheral nerves. This leads to weakness of the foot, lower leg, and hands, as well as decreased sensations, pain, and muscle atrophy. The symptoms generally worsen gradually, leading to worsening disability. Like Christina, most patients have a normal life expectancy. Though rare, considered as a group CMT is one of the most common inherited neurological disorders, affecting about 1 in 2,500 people in the US. There are more than 80 different kinds of CMT, each caused by a different mutation that affects the nerves. Even if Christina Olson been correctly diagnosed during her lifetime, her condition could not have been reversed. Then, as now, there is no cure for CMT, but physical therapy and other supportive treatments can help individuals deal with symptoms.

For more information about CMT, visit www.hnf-cure.org/