M. (Margaret) C. Maxwell, an art teacher at Cuesta and San Luis High School, and a lifelong painter, was a pupil of Hans Hoffman when he taught at Columbia. The Art Center held a retrospective of her work, which included paintings of the San Francisco flower children. While teaching at Cuesta, she and her art students worked on an alternative plan presented by the California Highway Department to put Highway 1 right through the Cuesta College campus. The students presented their plans to the County Board of Supervisors, and the highway was diverted around Cuesta.
This painting was done in response to a bitter labor dispute in San Francisco during that time. Margaret Maxwell was active in the local art scene and a longtime supporter of this organization.