Poverty and Prosperity The prosperous couple entering the door brings blankets and parcels probably containing food to this poverty-stricken family living in a barren attic. The charity provided by the benevolent couple offered a small measure of temporary relief, but it did not promise a long-term solution to the poor family’s plight. The clothing and bodily postures in the painting highlight the contrast between poverty and prosperity in the mid-nineteenth century. The Granger Collection, New York.