The Hag and the Young Man was one of 15 drawings Bellows made to illustrate The Wind Bloweth, a story by Donn Byrne set in Ireland. This illustration was reproduced on page 96 of the May 1922 issue of The Century Magazine. For some reason, however, this illustration was not used when the novel was reprinted as a book later in 1922. Bellows's interest in Irish subjects was probably sparked by his friendship with the Irish painter John Butler Yeats (1839–1922).