ISAAC ISRAELS (1865-1934)

From spring 1913 to early 1915, Isaac Israels lived in London where he found new painting subjects in ballerinas, boxers, and horseback riders at Rotten Row. Above all he loved Rotten Row, a broad horse track along the south side of Hyde Park, which was a fashionable gathering place for the middle and upper classes to promenade during the 18th and 19th century. Rotten Row is in fact a corruption of the original name, Route du Roi. Conceived by William III, who moved his court from St. James's to Kensington Palace, he designed the Route du Roi to be a shortcut for him and Queen Mary to travel from their new home to St. James's Palace. Opened in 1690 and lit by 300 oil lamps, Route du Roi was the first artificially lit avenue in England. In 1876 the surface of Rotten Row was changed to a brick base covered in sand to make it more suitable to horse riding.