Abramovitz shows a woman sleeping, her cheek cupped in one hand, apparently resting from her labours. The artist immigrated to the USA in 1916. His graphic work often draws on social or political issues and this work was made during an era of segregation when the term 'negress' was in common usage. The Ben Uri Collection Minutes for 1933-36 show that the picture was purchased for the gallery for £1.11.6d on 31 October 1933. Abramovitz went on to produce a number of prints for the Federal Arts Project Works Progress Administration in New York between 1935 and 1939. His graphic work was included in both the 1938 and the 1939 International Exhibition of Lithographs and Wood Engraving at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1940, a solo exhibition of his work was mounted at the Bonestell Gallery and Abramovitz was included in exhibitions sponsored by the Union of American Artists, the American Artists Congress, the ACA Gallery, the New-Age Gallery, the National Academy of Design, and the American Association of University Women.