[citation needed] While living in East Baltimore's Little Bohemia, Oktavec owned a grocery store.
Oktavec's neighbor Emma Schott requested a screen painting for her own home, using a photograph that reminded her of her rural upbringing in Bohemia.
Screen painting quickly became popular with Baltimore's working-class Czech immigrant community, and soon became common across the city.
[2] In 1922, Oktavec opened the Art Store on East Monument Street to pursue his career as an artist.
He painted a picture on the screen doors of "cuts of beef, spare ribs, lettuce, cucumbers and carrots."
His sons, grandson, students including the "Half-man" Johnny Eck and hundreds of kindred spirits -- dabblers, sign painters, jacks-of-all-trades -- painted screens for friends, family and customers.
Air conditioners and changing tastes have kept many windows closed year round, but the need for privacy and beauty continues.