Hug is part of a series of small canvases painted by Indiana in the spring and summer of 1962. It marked the first appearance of the word "hug" in his work. In a lecture at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 1969, Indiana discussed the meaning of the word to him, noting that in his family “hug” was a substitute for “love”: “no one ever spoke of love in my family. They would hug each other, but never really love each other.”
