The present work is the first of two maquettes for a mural Jacob Lawrence designed for the Times Square subway station in New York, which was his last public work. The mural was commisioned in 1991 by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Arts for Transit program. The final design was installed as a 36 feet wide mosaic tile work by Miotto Mosaics, Inc. in 2001, where it still hangs on the mezzannine level near the Shuttle train. Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence worked closely on the mural installation after the artist's passing.

“We tend to deprecate art. We don’t appreciate art. Jazz musicians starve to death. […] Same for our painters. […] Part of our work is to honor these so deserving people. And Jacob, he deserves our highest regard. He’s up there in the pantheon of the greats of American art and culture.” – Rev. Jesse Jackson, in an interview with Christie’s, February 2014.