During a time when Abstract Expressionism was at the height of its influence, Leon Golub turned to ancient figural sculpture for inspiration. Fascinated by the classical ideal of heroic masculinity, Golub utilized traditional forms but adapted them to the current moment by stripping away flesh and facial features, resulting in broken, almost dehumanized figures such as the one found in Warrior. In drawing on the ideals of the past, Golub commented on the mechanized, nearly robotic humans of the present.