Art critic Clement Greenberg championed modern art as it called attention to art itself and its elements rather than to a subject. A year following the Art 1963 exhibition, the Arts Council invited him to speak at their second exhibition.

After spending the evening with Greenberg, Maitin expressed mixed feelings about him. Maitin admired Greenberg for his passionate writing about abstract art and his desire that art could one day be obtainable for anyone who wanted it regardless of money. Greenberg’s “spoiled and wretched” personality, however, disillusioned Maitin, who believed that Greenberg made a name for himself through overly harsh criticism of artists. Maitin created this portrait within hours of the meeting.