Robert Indiana kept a series of illustrated journals during the late 1950s and 1960s, in which he discusses the development of his work as well as his daily life on Coenties Slip.

Indiana's journal entry for April 8, 1961, is dominated by a sketch of Brow. Indiana records that he added the "E" for Ernst (Max Ernst) and a white circle to the construction. He also notes receiving a call from the artist David Posner, who had seen his show (Indiana / Forakis at the David Anderson Gallery) but was too pressed to see him.