Dandies in Rotten Row
Rotten Row was the nickname for a road established along the southern edge of Hyde Park where fashionable Londoners paraded their carriages or rode on horseback. Men in particular used the site to display riding skills and show off the latest fashions. These dandies wear either spurred boots with riding britches, or ultra-fashionable short, wide-legged trousers. Their restrictive tailcoats have exaggerated narrow waists and wide lapels, but the humor is chiefly directed at their collars. The extended necks of these riders are so stiffly encased that their heads actually tilt backwards. With obscured vision, they are tossed about like ragdolls by their mounts. Subservience to fashion has turned these horsemen into ludicrous examples of folly.
Artwork Details
- Title: Dandies in Rotten Row
- Artist: Attributed to William Heath ('Paul Pry') (British, Northumbria 1794/95–1840 Hampstead)
- Publisher: Thomas Tegg (British, London 1776–1846 London)
- Date: January 21, 1819
- Medium: Hand-colored etching
- Dimensions: plate: 9 13/16 x 13 3/4 in. (24.9 x 34.9 cm)
sheet: 10 9/16 x 15 1/16 in. (26.8 x 38.2 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund and Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, by Exchange, 1970
- Object Number: 1970.541.120
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
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William Heath ('Paul Pry')
S. Gans
1830
William Heath ('Paul Pry')
Thomas McLean
1827–29
Multiple artists/makers
1827–29
William Heath ('Paul Pry')
Thomas McLean
1828–29
William Heath ('Paul Pry')
Thomas McLean
1828
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