Ree Morton (b. 1936, Ossining, New York; d. 1977, Chicago) received a BFA in fine arts from the University of Rhode Island in 1968 and an MFA from the Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, in 1970. Solo exhibitions during her lifetime include projects at Artists Space, New York (1973); the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1974); and the South Street Seaport Museum, New York (1975). Morton was included in the 1973 and 1977 Whitney Biennials. She has had major retrospectives at the New Museum, New York (1980); the Generali Foundation, Vienna (2008); the Drawing Center, New York (2009); and the Reina So a, Madrid (2015).

Morton taught at the Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts) from 1970–1975, living in Philadelphia until 1972 before moving to New York. ICA commissioned the major work Sister Perpetua’s Lie in 1973 in the inaugural show of the exhibition series Made in Philadelphia, and works in subsequent ICA exhibitions include Lamps and Tables from the Whitney Museum of American Art installation To Each Concrete Man, 1974 (Improbable Furniture, 1977); a study for Manipulations of the Organic, 1977 (Made in Philadelphia 3, 1980); and Weeds of the Northeast #6, 1974 (Drawings: The Pluralist Decade, 1980, which traveled to the United States Pavilion of the 39th Venice Biennale that year). The 1998 ICA anniversary exhibition From Warhol to Mapplethorpe: Three Decades of Art at ICA featured four works by Morton; Many Have Run Away, To Be Sure, 1974; Terminal Clusters, 1974; Regional Piece, 1976; and Untitled (Signs of Love), 1976.