New York City (version 1)

Bright yellow lines race across this canvas like busy streets seen from high above, crossed by bold stripes of red and blue. Piet Mondrian painted this in 1942, not long after he arrived in New York to escape the war tearing through Europe. The Dutch artist was already famous for his strict grids of black lines and primary colors, but something about the city changed him. The heavy black borders vanished here, replaced by cheerful ribbons that seem to weave over and under each other, giving the whole picture a lively, restless bounce.

The overlapping bands almost look like strips of colored tape stuck to the surface, and that is no accident. Mondrian actually played with adhesive tape in some of his New York pieces, sliding the lines this way and that until the balance felt right. The rhythm on the canvas connects to his love of jazz and the dance halls he adored, where the same kind of energy filled the air. Painted when he was in his late sixties, this work is proof that a person can find fresh inspiration late in life. New York gave Mondrian a new spark, and you can feel it in every crossing line.