Slobodkina created 5 WPA mural sketches. She worked for the WPA in 1936-1938, and was an assistant to Hananiah Harari. Because Harari didn’t really need help, Slobodkina was able to work on her own (The Life and Art of Esphyr Slobodkina, Tufts University Art Gallery, 1992, p.15).
Slobodkina, always methodical in her approach to her work, usually prefered to begin with one or a series of sketches.
This drawing is the sketch for a mrual which is part of the Samuel P. Harn Museum collection in Gainsville, Florida.