Wyeth touch puts site in pantheon

That quality has been apparent since Wyeth caused a sensation with his evocative artwork that features the farmhouse. In the painting, a disabled woman, her legs immobile on a grass field, bends inscrutably toward the building.

The scene, one of yearning and mystery, prompted questions, sympathy, and intro spection. What is the woman seeking? Why is the farmhouse important? What is this world that Christina inhabits?

When the public learned that Christina Olson, the subject of the artwork, had lost the use of her legs, and that Wyeth had been inspired by watching her drag herself across the field, its fascination deepened. The painting now hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

“This nondescript saltwater farmhouse and its connecting structure has become one of the most recognized images in American art,’’ said Christopher Brownawell, executive director of the Farnsworth Art Museum in nearby Rockland, which owns the property and provides tours. “It just clicked from the very beginning. There’s something about it. There’s this mystique.’’

Fewer than 2,500 National Historic Landmarks have been recognized in the country and fewer than 50 in Maine. The designation, Brownawell said, means “the house will stand in perpetuity and remain one of Maine’s iconic structures.’’

Landmark status does not prevent changes to the farmhouse, built on Maine’s midcoast by a sea captain and later expanded, if federal funding or permits are not involved. But Brownawell said the museum, which received the property as a gift 20 years ago, is intent on preserving this thought-provoking piece of old Maine.

For Earle Shettleworth, the Maine state historian, the house and painting speak to the state’s character.