According to Victoria, Wyeth painted her there, but during the process, the young girl became a German bride with another woman’s face donned with traditional wedding attire.

[4] This reveals the process of preparatory study via sketches Wyeth produced to arrive at a final tempera painting.

While there, Wyeth happened upon an Old German Church in Waldoboro, Maine and envisioned a bride alone in the front pew donned with a crown of flowers.

[5][2] In the process of development, Wyeth removed the extraneous figures and used a singular model named Shirley Russel.

Meryman relates Wyeth telling Betsy a fictitious story of how he came upon a wedding in a New England Meetinghouse where he stole away into the choir loft and painted Crown of Flowers.

[8] In an article for The Iowa Review, writer Laurie J. Murray describes the painting: "The bride-to-be in Maidenhair seems to be waiting for her betrothed, bound by religious convictions and tradition.

"[9] Murray also draws attention to the title by pointing out the "maidenhair" in the crown of flowers resting atop the subject's head.

In a way, the arrested motion and tightness of Wyeth's paintings appear diametrically opposed to the liveliness and freedom of his watercolors and drawings, but apparently he needed to work through one to arrive at the other.

"[7] The Farnsworth Art Museum has held special writing classes for students to create their own stories relating to the Wyeth painting through guided tours and historical lecturers.