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.

In his journal entry for November 18, 1962, Indiana records that it was a miserable day weather-wise, and that he received a call from his gallerist Eleanor Ward, who relayed that gallerist Allan Stone had returned his painting The Great Reap: "he kept it only a few days and requested [that] she swap for another work by one of his painters. The whole thing has become preposterous again, and she and I want to withdraw fr[om] it."

Ward also spoke about Wynn Chamberlain, whose work she felt was missing a vital element. Indiana writes: "He vehemently did not like my little paintings (Love [4-Star Love]) [that] she hung in her guest shack in Old Lyme; but then suddenly came around after a long visit with Ellsworth Kelly."

Indiana then records a call from Chamberlain, who asked him about artist Lucas Samaras (misspelled Samaris in the entry), and a call from Billy Klüver (an engineer who collaborated with artists), who invited him to contribute an etching for the "Schwarz book in Milan," which Jim Dine had contributed to. Indiana would contribute the print Err (1963) to the project, titled International Anthology of Contemporary Engraving: The International Avant-Garde: American Discovered, Volume 5.

He also notes receiving a call from Arthur (Carr, a clinical psychologist and art collector), who had seen his painting Year of Meteors hanging in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery (now the Buffalo AKG Art Museum), but that it was erroneously titled "Coenties Slip." The final call Indiana records came from collector Myron Orlofsky, inviting him to a party in December. He writes that he might be in Boston, and that The Rebecca (which Orlofskly purchased), would be hung by then.