This artwork is part of the series "The Tragedy of Color," created in 1975. That same year, Baber visited her hometown of Paris, Illinois for an exhibition of her work of the same title at the Bicentennial Art Center and Museum on East Washington Street, now known as the Link Art Gallery. Featuring twenty-one works, the series may have been influenced by her return to the family home around the time of her father's death.


The title of the series also references James Jones's article, "Alice Baber and the Tragedy of Light," published in the September 1965 issue of Studio International. Jones was the first to interpret Baber's art, writing about her use of bright colors as conveying tragedy and loss. Baber later linked this body of work to his article in a 1980 interview with Alexandra de Lallier, emphasizing his understanding of her use of color: "he described the nostalgia of the green of the trees in summer and the sadness of color. And I agreed completely that color was not a totally joyous experience, but had other elements. And that article was called 'The Tragedy of Color.'"