After his injury in World War I, Pippin returned to New York in January 1919; yet it was not until 1945 that he painted this memory of army barracks. The scene depicts men reading, sleeping, and working—perhaps cleaning or mending—by candlelight.

This crowded, claustrophobic setting was a study for a larger composition that shows three layers of bunks. Both paintings reveal the segregation of the military quarters and the poor conditions forced upon African American soldiers.