"Old Man Praying" Painting Misunderstood

This is a Bovey news story, published by Upworthy, that relates primarily to Austin McConnell news.

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Grace

Upworthy

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Guy reveals why the 'old man praying’ painting you see everywhere is not what it seems

Summary

Nutrition label

53% Informative

The painting of an old devout man praying over a bowl of gruel and a loaf of bread in front of a Bible is one of the most popular pieces of 20th century American art.

A new video by pop culture YouTube user Austin McConnell shows that “ Grace ” isn’t really what it seems.

It was originally a photograph taken in 1918 , during World War I , by Eric Enstrom , a Swedish American from Bovey , Minnesota .

Enstrom wanted to show people that even though they had to do without many things because of the war they still had much to be thankful for.

"If you found out today that everything you thought you knew about this iconic image was actually wrong, would you take it off your wall?” McConnell asks at the end of the video. “Or would you accept that the value in a piece of art isn't merely derived from the knowledge of how it was made? Or who made it?” This article originally appeared on 1.6.23.

VR Score

Informative language

Neutral language

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful