Weaver grew up in Peru, Indiana, home to the American Circus Corporation. As a child, he was exposed to the many performers that frequented his father's general store. He became interested in the folklore of early American circuses, and the fantastical environment that they brought to each town during their season of travel. As a result, the traveling circus informed many of Weaver’s works, as he wished to capture moments and people in time. "Ringling Brothers - Barnum and Bailey, Utility Team" is a depiction of a circus lot around 1930. Weaver traveled with Ringling for a summer in the 1930s, doing odd jobs and sketching incessantly. Horses were some of his favorite subjects from the circus; he loved their power and grace. A utility team of horses, always of the draft breed, would be used to move tent poles, assist other teams in pulling wagons, and hoist the huge canvas tents to their full height. They were the work horses of the traveling circus of that era. Weaver considered this one of his best portrayals of on-lot activity. Between the late 1970s and early 1980s, Weaver was interested in producing lithographic prints for collectors and enthusiasts of his work, which he believed was the most accurate way of reproducing his drawings. He did not print these himself, but like many artists used a service bureau to create them, though which one is unknown. They were printed using a photo lithographic plate process. “The American Circus furnished an ingredient so necessary to the growth of our country that it had to be. As America grew up, so grew the circus. The circus was a kind of traveling supermarket which offered a growing America both education and entertainment. It embraced music, dramatics, history, science, logistics, management, etcetera, and it reached out to the most remote corners of our land. It was the one thing that man could hope and dream about, and know it would always come true. In essence, the circus offers in a small space a total life image from which to create.” - Robert Edward Weaver