Agnes Martin's transition to bar paintings marked a significant phase in her artistic development. After leaving New York and the art world behind in 1967 and spending a year and a half on the road, Martin resurfaced in New Mexico in 1968. Settling on a mesa near the town of Cuba, she lived in this challenging yet inspiring landscape for six years without painting. It wasn't until 1974 that she began painting again, readying a new series of work for exhibition at Pace Gallery in New York by 1975. This series included "Untitled #3" (1975), one of the first canvases she painted after her hiatus, which maintained her usual six-foot-square format and the use of acrylic and graphite. This work introduced the use of multiple-color bases and laid the groundwork for what would evolve into her bar format—six tall rectangles in vertical orientation, marked by a light application of color, reminiscent of sun-bleaching, and separated by thin white lines (Cahiers d'Art Institute).

This period represented a new direction for Martin. The vertical orientation, first seen in "Tundra" (1967), was reintroduced, signaling a continuation yet evolution of her minimalist aesthetic. Martin noted that the paintings from her first show after resuming painting were all vertical, a decision she described as inspired by voices guiding her artistic decisions. This insertion of vertical and later horizontal bands would characterize her post-grid paintings for the rest of her life, seen in the works included in her 1975 Pace Gallery exhibition (Cahiers d'Art Institute).

Martin's bar paintings not only reflect her unique minimalist style but also incorporate new elements that demonstrate her evolving artistic philosophy and response to her environment. These works are a testament to her enduring exploration of beauty, perfection, and the profound impact of simplicity and structure in art (Cahiers d'Art Institute).