Robert Indiana kept a series of illustrated journals during the late 1950s and 1960s, in which he discusses the development of his work as well as his daily life on Coenties Slip.

In his journal page for August 12, 1963 Indiana records that he began his painting for the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation (for a benefit exhibition to take place later that year). He includes a sketch of the work, Yield Brother, with the painting's medium, oil on canvas, and its dimensions, 60 by 50 inches.