For the past 75 years, several museums have been displaying Piet Mondrian’s ‘New York City I’ the wrong way|Spacefiction|PD

A 1941 artwork, ‘New York City I’ by the abstract Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, has been hanging upside down for 75 years in museums, curator Susanne Meyer-Buser found.

The artwork was first exhibited upside down in 1945 at New York’s MoMA and that has been its fate ever since.

Meyer-Buser took a closer look at the artwork while researching for an upcoming show and realized the error. She also found another piece of work with a similar name by Mondrian and concluded, “The thickening of the grid should be at the top, like a dark sky.” After discussing with other curators, she further adds, “I am 100% certain the picture is the wrong way around.”

Despite the discovery, Mondrian’s work will remain upside down because if turned now, the fragile tape adhesive may start to come off.