This mural was painted in Morelia, Mexico with Reuben Kadish. Jules Langser was their assistant. They received the commission with the help of David Alfaro Siquieros and Diego Rivera.
Guston completed this mural with his wife, Musa McKim. It is remarkable that he decided to take this commission even though he had a steady income at the University of Iowa.
Guston won this prestigious commission for the mural on the facade of the Works Progress Administration building at the 1939 New York World's Fair in Queens.