Open Window was inspired by Robert Delaunay's 1911 painting La Ville (The City). Like Delaunay, Wadsworth rendered a view over a city at night, but made the checkered patterning-which unites an array of motifs in the painted scene-the theme of his work. Wadsworth liked the possibilities woodcut gave him to explore complete changes of meaning through different color permutations. There are six versions of Open Window with various color combinations.