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 entry for July 31, 1961, Indiana describes a visit by Rolf Nelson, who at the time was working at the Martha Jackson Gallery. He records that Nelson's reaction to his new work "seemed positive enough," and that his favorites of the new canvases seemed to be Loftiest Trucks (renamed Melville) and the two God Can Do Anything But Fail paintings (both renamed God Is a Lily of the Valley). He notes that Nelson was less enthusiastic about the "big pieces."

Indiana writes that Nelson stayed through two meals, making it "one of his more prolonged visits," and that in the process he inherited one of J's (his partner, fashion designer John Kloss) handmade swimsuits. He also records playing Monopoly and going out for a walk and frozen custards.