Robert Indiana created a series of constructions (herms) during the late 1950s and early 1960s, using discarded wooden beams and other objects he found in his Coenties Slip neighborhood. The artist returned to making constructions in Vinalhaven, Maine, at first using the remaining beams he had in storage from Coenties Slip, and then using objects he found locally on the island. Monarchy is one of the first sculptures Indiana created in Vinalhaven. The work incorporates beams remaining from Coenties Slip, however in this work they rest atop forward facing footers, something the artist adopted in the 1980s.
The sculpture is a companion to the painting Monarchy (1969/1981).