Smooth macadam motor-roads cut their ribbon-like way through the well-kept farmlands in the central part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, thus providing for the farmers easy access to the markets and shipping centers. The red barn and storybook horse are symbols of the prosperous Michigan farms, while the well-fed hog is a reminder that Michigan farmers owned approximately one million pigs in the 1940s. A typical country church is seen beside the road.

In October 1946, The J. L. Hudson Company, a legendary Detroit-based department store chain, through Associated American Artists of New York, commissioned ten of America's leading artists to do a series of work which would permanently record present-day life in Michigan. The ten artists selected were chosen by a committee of seven Michigan art museum directors. "Michigan on Canvas" had its premier showing at the Hudson store and then went on an extensive admission-free tour of the state to approximately 20 venues, where the works were seen by nearly one million attendees. The other artists included in the exhibition were Arnold Blanch, Aaron Bohrod, Adolf Dehn, John DeMartelly, David Fredenthal, Joe Jones, Carlos Lopez, Ogden Pleissner, and Zoltan Sepeshy. The works were distributed to 71 institutions including public libraries, local museums, and colleges in 1956 for the 75th anniversary of Hudson's. The distribution was advertised as a gift to the Michigan people.