Practicing Gratitude: Henry Ossawa Tanner’s ‘The Thankful Poor’

Practicing Gratitude: Henry Ossawa Tanner’s ‘The Thankful Poor’
A detail from “The Thankful Poor,” 1894, by Henry Ossawa Tanner. Oil on canvas; 35.5 inches by 44.2 inches. Private Collection. Public Domain
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Thanksgiving is here, and I’ve been thinking deeply about what it means to be thankful. What does it mean to have gratitude, and for what should we be grateful?
Sometimes, holidays like Thanksgiving can be stressful. For instance, some of us might have to host and cook for our families. Others might have no one to spend Thanksgiving with. Still others may want to avoid divisive political conversations, which some family members instigate at gatherings.
Eric Bess
Eric Bess
Author
Eric Bess, Ph.D., is a fine artist, a writer on art-related topics, and an assistant professor at Fei Tian College in Middletown, New York.
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