Richard Diebenkorn's Urbana series, spanning from 1952 to 1953, marks a significant phase in his career. After his time in Albuquerque, Diebenkorn took up a faculty position at the University of Illinois in Urbana, teaching beginning drawing to architecture students. It was during this period in Urbana that Diebenkorn's exploration into the intersection of figuration and abstraction deepened, setting the stage for the pivotal developments in his style that would later culminate in his renowned Ocean Park series.

Diebenkorn's Urbana series was not just a continuation of his abstract expressionist works but also a period of innovative exploration. He utilized one of the bedrooms in his house as a studio, where he embarked on this phase of productivity and pivotal style development. This series signified a crucial early exploration of figuration through abstraction, an approach that Diebenkorn would further refine and fully realize in his Ocean Park series during the late 1960s to the 1980s. His work from the Urbana series is recognized for starting from a mood or a relationship with things or people, out of a complete visual impression, and is characterized by a productive and pivotal time in Diebenkorn's stylistic development​ (Heather James)​.

Diebenkorn's Urbana series, therefore, represents an essential bridge between his early abstract expressionist works and the mature, abstract landscapes of the Ocean Park series. These works reflect Diebenkorn's ongoing interest in the balance between figuration and abstraction, a theme that would continue to permeate his work for the rest of his career. The time in Urbana, although brief, was instrumental in the evolution of Diebenkorn's style and his innovative exploration of figuration through abstraction began in these crucial early years​ (Richard Diebenkorn Foundation)​​ (The Art Story)​.