DDG Vol. 28 Issue 3 since 1994

REPORTER: Adam EMAIL: adamsartexpose@gmail.com ADAMSARTEXPOSE’
Turkey has been the notable food
for the Thanksgiving table. Norman
Rockwell, artist documentarian of
U.S. historical events has painted
romanticized and comical versions
of historical events. His painting
titled, “Cousin Reginald Catches the
Thanksgiving Turkey”, is both humorous
and a chronicle of the fate of millions
of turkeys over the past century since
turkey became the unofficial food for
Thanksgiving.
THE DUBIOUS HISTORY
OF THANKSGIVING THROUGH
ART
Based on historical records the artist
Jean Leon Gerome Ferris painted the
first painting depicting Thanksgiving
showing members of the Wampanoag
Tribe sharing a feast with English settlers
who had inhabited some of their land
the previous year. This painting was
completed in 1912 as part of a series of
scenes from American History called the
Pageant of History with 78 paintings all
created by Ferris. This painting depicting
an event in 1621 is also idealized based
on his interpretation of what this event
may have looked like.
The codification of Thanksgiving as a
national holiday was proclaimed by
President Abraham Lincoln in October of
1863. It was also an attempt to unify the
United States
following the Civil War. A wood
engraving by Winslow Homer created
in 1865 titled “Hanging Up The Musket”
Shows a man hanging a rifle used in the
Civil War under an older musket hanging
above a musket from the Revolutionary
War.
8 DDG is always FREE ddg.gay. Available in print at select locations.
One of the most representational of
what could be an actual scene from
an early Thanksgiving is a Currier and
Ives print titled “ Home to Thanksgiving”
from 1860. This scene may have been
continued on page 10