Regent Street, London

Reluctant to return to The Hague after the death of his father in 1911, Isaac Israels moved to London in the spring of 1913. After having stayed in Paris for a period of nine years, the Amsterdam Impressionist went in search of new and dynamic subject-matter, focussing especially on the bustling street-life of the capital's West End, Picadilly Circus and Regent Street. Isaac furthermore portrayed young ladies posing in boats on the Thames (see for example lot 363 of this sale), along the riverbank and in his studio on Fitzroy street. Admired by his close friends for his unequalled energy, Israels had a childish pleasure in driving around London in a double decker bus and observing his subject-matter from a high view-point. On one occassion, a shop keeper even gave the artist the possibility to make use of his balcony. The present lot features such a bird's-eye view of the Regent Street and bears a distinct resemblance to several of the artist's townviews of Paris, Amsterdam and The Hague. With a broad and impressionistic brushstroke, Isaac Israels rendered numerous figures strolling across the sand colored side-walk, against wich the brightly colored busses form a lively contrast.