In 1929, sociologist Helen Lynd and her husband Robert published Middletown, their study of the values and mores of a midsized Midwestern community. The anthropological approach and interviewing techniques used by the Lynds in gathering their data pointed the way to a new methodology in sociology, and today the book—along with its sequel, Middletown in Transition—is regarded as one of the great landmarks in its field. These two volumes, one critic declared, represented "the most valuable record we shall ever have of an American community" in the 1920s and 1930s.

Lynd's interests were wide-ranging, and as a teacher for many years at Sarah Lawrence College, she was a primary spirit behind the school's adoption of an interdisciplinary program of study.

Before beginning to paint her likenesses, Lynd's portraitist, Alice Neel, carefully studied her subjects looking for characteristic gestures and poses. Then, as she put it, she set about recording "what the world has done to them and their retaliation."