A major multi-museum exhibition titled *By Design: The Worlds of Betsy James Wyeth* will open across three U.S. institutions in 2026, re-examining the life and legacy of Betsy James Wyeth. The collaborative project—organized by the Farnsworth Art Museum, Colby College Museum of Art, and Brandywine Museum of Art—is the first to fully explore her role as an innovative designer of immersive spaces and key creative collaborator to her husband, Andrew Wyeth. Each venue highlights a different aspect of her work: the Farnsworth focuses on her built environments in Maine; Colby examines Allen and Benner Islands with new commissions by contemporary artists; and Brandywine centers on Brinton’s Mill and the Wyeths’ creative partnership, drawing from the Wyeth Foundation for American Art.
This exhibition matters because it reframes Betsy James Wyeth from a supporting figure to a visionary artist and designer in her own right, challenging long-held narratives about authorship and collaboration in American art. By foregrounding her adaptive reuse of historic properties and spatial design—including the iconic Olson House, central to Andrew Wyeth’s *Christina’s World*—the show expands the understanding of how environment and partnership shaped one of the most famous bodies of 20th-century American painting. It also sets a precedent for institutional collaboration and feminist re-evaluation of overlooked art-world figures.