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By Design: The Worlds of Betsy James Wyeth

A yellow sticky note with handwritten text in black ink. It reads "ME" with a heart symbol, followed by "Betsy Merle James WYETH," "born September 26, 1925," and "MARRIED ANDREW NEWELL WYETH MAY 15, 1941."

The exhibition also features intimate archival materials that offer glimpses of Wyeth’s inner life, including a childhood journal and handwritten sticky notes that she left for herself around her home. These will appear in conjunction with several key paintings of Allen and Benner Islands by Andrew Wyeth, who frequently drew and painted the places that Betsy Wyeth meticulously constructed.

Allen and Benner Islands at Colby College


In 2022, Colby College became the steward of Allen and Benner Islands, acquiring them from the Up East Foundation and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art to establish the Island Campus.  Part of an important initiative to preserve these extraordinary areas, Colby College continues to utilize them as centers for interdisciplinary learning, research, and creative inspiration across the natural sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. The Island Campus supports year-round academic programs, critical research on climate change and biodiversity, student and faculty fieldwork, and creative endeavors while honoring the islands’ important cultural legacy.

Image 5: Film Still, Betsy's World A wide, horizontal landscape photograph featuring a sprawling field of tall, pale green and yellow grasses in the foreground. In the background, set against a line of dark evergreen trees and a grey, overcast sky, are several weathered wooden buildings. To the left stands a large, saltbox-style barn with grey shingles. To the right is a two-story farmhouse with white-trimmed windows and two dormers on a gabled roof, flanked by smaller outbuildings. Centered in the middle ground, the words BETSY'S WORLD are overlaid in a white, serif, all-caps typeface. The overall color palette is muted and atmospheric, dominated by earthy greens, greys, and tans.

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A wide, horizontal photograph of a sprawling field of tall, dry, pale-green and tan grasses. In the background, situated on a slight rise, are several weathered, grey-shingled buildings under a heavy, overcast sky. To the left is a large, tall barn with a steeply pitched roof. To the right is a prominent three-story farmhouse with white-trimmed windows and two dormers on its gabled roof. A dark line of evergreen trees creates a horizon line behind the structures. The overall atmosphere is somber and muted, with a palette of earthy greens, greys, and browns.