Two islands nestled in the Atlantic Ocean have been acquired by Colby College of Waterville, Maine. The transaction’s local significance is this: The spits of land were once owned by the Wyeth family of Chadds Ford, reports Meredith Mendelsohn for The New York Times.

Allen and Benner, as the islands are called, were owned by Betsy and Andrew Wyeth. Andrew died in 2009, while Betsy passed in 2020. The family’s two foundations, Up East and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art, have sold the property to ensure its resurrection.

Colby College will play a key role in carrying forward the complex Wyeth legacy. While it is not taking ownership of the Andrew Wyeth paintings that were once found on the islands, Colby College Museum of Art will be the first to present to the public over a dozen drawings created by the realist painter in the 1990s.

According to the painter Jamie Wyeth, the couple’s youngest son, Andrew secreted away the work, presumably because it depicted his own funeral.

The images will be on view at the Colby College museum from June 2 through Oct. 16.

Read more about the acquisition of this art-significant property in The New York Times.