ROCKLAND — The Farnsworth Art Museum announced Wednesday it has received a $3 million gift from the Wyeth Foundation of American Art in Wilmington, Del. The gift will go toward the museum's Andrew Wyeth Memorial Endowment, launched in September 2009, with income from the endowment going to support the maintenance and operation of four of the museum's Midcoast properties.

It was noted that the gift, to date, is the largest single gift to the Farnsworth Museum of Art.

Three of the properties are located in downtown Rockland, including the Wyeth Center, Wyeth Study Center and Wyeth Research Center. The fourth, the Olson House, is located in Cushing and is the site of Andrew Wyeth's iconic 1948 painting Christina's World. The Olson House, Christina Olson and her brother, Alvaro, feature in approximately 50 Wyeth watercolors and drawings.

The Foundation's gift was announced at an event June 30 at the Wyeth Center honoring major museum benefactors Julie and Charles Cawley of Camden.

"Phyllis and I are thrilled to be at this re-affirmation of our gratitude to Charlie Cawley for his transformation of the Farnsworth museum," artist Jamie Wyeth said to the 60-or-more guests gathered for the evening's festivities, according to the press release. "In that spirit Phyllis and I would like to continue the legacy that Charlie began. It is our pleasure to announce that the Board of Trustees of the Wyeth Foundation is awarding a grant to the Farnsworth Art Museum in the amount of $3 Million."

Jamie Wyeth is Andrew's son, and himself a painter of renown. He sits on the Foundation's Board of Trustees, along with Andrew's wife, Betsy James Wyeth. Andrew Wyeth died Jan. 16, 2009.

"Charlie and Julie Cawley's leadership and generosity toward this museum were transformative," said Farnsworth Director Christopher J. Brownawell in the release. "With this gift of $3 million — the single largest gift to this museum ever — Phyllis and Jamie Wyeth allow the Farnsworth to once again chart a new course. With this major gift, the Andrew Wyeth Memorial Endowment will begin covering operational costs to four of our properties — freeing up sorely needed funds for the types of exhibitions and programming that have placed this museum on the national stage."

Charles Cawley is the co-founder of MBNA, has been a major philanthropist to not only the Farnsworth Art Museum, but to numerous entities large and small in the Midcoast. In the late 1990s, he helped the museum transform a former Methodist Church on Union Street in Rockland into the Farnsworth's Wyeth Center, and also to greatly expand its gallery space by transforming the former J.J. Newberry's department store into what is now the Morehouse Wing of the Farnsworth.

The Farnsworth Art Museum celebrates Maine's ongoing role in American art. It offers a nationally recognized collection of works from many of America's greatest artists, with 20,000 square feet of gallery space and over 15,000 works in the collection. The Farnsworth has one of the largest public collections of works by sculptor Louise Nevelson, while its Wyeth Center features works of N.C., Andrew and Jamie Wyeth. The National Register-listed Farnsworth Homestead; the Olson House, a National Historic Landmark; and Julia's Gallery for Young Artists complete the museum complex.

Visit farnsworthmuseum.org for more information.