What are these people doing?
The title of Harry Roseland's work "The Blessing" gives away a bit of what they are doing. They are are being led in prayer before taking a family meal together. This work is a great example of genre painting, with the artist focusing on humble yet ideal depictions of everyday life.
Genre painting?
Yes! Genre painting is more a type of subject matter than a movement. Genre painting became more popular in the United States in the mid-1800s, when more Americans began moving into the cities and wanted art that offered a look back to a supposedly simpler way of life.