Robert Indiana’s American Dream Painting #1 (1961) went to the Museum of Modern of Art when the paint was (figuratively) still wet and that early sale helped cement Indiana’s reputation as a premier artist. The Black Diamond, American Dream #2 (Sintra Museum of Modern Art, Lisbon, Portugal) was painted in 1962. Twenty years later, working with the Domberger print house in Germany, Indiana worked on a four-screenprint suite in the image of the Black Diamond. That work is American Dream #2, 1982, created in an edition of 100 plus proofs.

It was not unusual for Indiana to publish a print in the image of a painting that was placed in a museum or private collection. Indeed, most of Indiana’s published prints are based on paintings that left his studio, not those that remained in his archives. “Over time, as ...paintings were bought by private collectors or public institutions, Indiana felt their loss keenly and felt that making a print of the departing canvas was a satisfying compensation. Thus developed a pattern throughout his career of producing prints of works that were leaving his hands.” (As stated by John Wilmerding in the Foreword of “The Essential Robert Indiana” by Krause, Wilmerding, (2013) at page 19.)

The verbal language in American Dream #2, EAT/JACK/JUKE references Indiana’s vagabond lifestyle during the Great Depression, the signs he saw when driving endlessly with his parents, and the diners in which his mother worked for little “jack” (slang for money). Experiencing this as a child, Indiana viewed the American Dream as something quite cheap and tawdry. Krause at 62.

To view Robert Indiana’s paintings referred to above, please see these links from his official site:
American Dream #1
The Black Diamond, American Dream #2