I'm glad I'm not the only one. When our art teacher was talking about symbolism and other kids were like 'oh she's about to go into the house for a snack' I think I said something like, 'It's really sad, it looks like she might have trouble seeing and can't find her way back home.'
The subject, Christina, had a degenerative muscle disorder and she refused to use a wheel chair. She would drag herself around the property. Here is a nice write up on the piece:Andrew Wyeth painted this in 1948. His father, N. C. Wyeth, had been killed at a railway crossing just three years earlier, and Andrew's work underwent a significant change after the loss. His palette became muted, his landscapes barren and his figures--if present--seemed plaintive. Christina's World epitomizes these traits, and conveys the impression that it is an outward expression of Wyeth's inner grief.