Gertrude Stein, a Jewish American author, poet, and art collector, wrote The Making of Americans in 1926. She wrote the fictional story of two families’ histories as a study of the innate nature of people. Its publication thrust her into the mainstream literary world. Maitin may have felt drawn to its focus on Eastern European immigrants navigating life in the United States.

Some of Stein’s writing, particularly The Making of Americans, is hermetic, meaning that the prose and individual words themselves hold hidden meaning. In short, it is meant to be abstract. The message is not blatant but rather something for the reader to grapple with.

Maitin created this print for an exhibit at the Roman Catholic High School in Center City, the first free Catholic high school in the U.S. The exhibit featured artist Julius Bloch’s portrayal of Black America. Bloch had already passed by the time of the exhibition, but Maitin felt inspired by his legacy. Benjamin Bernstein, one of Maitin’s patrons, lent many pieces from his personal collection for this exhibit.