Jacob Epstein, 1880-1959
Main details
| Reference number | 1996/7847 |
|---|---|
| Name | Jacob Epstein Sir |
| Born | 1880 |
| Collection | |
| Object type |
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| Completeness | 100% |
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Biography
Attribute Value Biography Jacob Epstein was born in New York of Russian-Polish parents, and studied at the Art Students League, and at the Academie Julian in Paris before settling in London in 1905. He was a sculptor, painter and draughtsman in a wide range of media of figurative and portrait subjects. When he arrived in England, the sculpture there was predominantly academic and very conservative. His first commission for the British Medical Association's headquarters in the Strand caused widespread controversy; indeed, his whole career was characterised by sensationalism. In 1911 he carved Oscar Wilde's tomb for Pere-Lachaise cemetary and whilst in Paris he met Picasso, Brancusi and Modigliani. He was present at the first meeting of the London Group and has been credited with suggesting its name. At the second London Group exhibition in March 1915 he exhibited Rock Drill which was an alarming war-like figure mounted on an actual drill.
His sculpture was essentially expressionist in feel and his many portrait busts were characterised by an often brutal portrayal of the sitter. He looked back at the early days of the London Group with some affection when writing Let There be Sculture in 1942: 'The London Group gathered together before the war [WW2] the best of the English artists, and looking back at it, I contrast it with present-day groups who must stick together like thieves for self-protection, in a "united we stand" attitude, rather than for any respect they have for each other or enthusiasm for the common weal of Art. There was an integrity about the painters and sculptors in the London Group which is lacking today.' He served on the Group's hanging committee between 1915 and 1917. He was knighted in 1954 and a major memorial exhibition of his work was organised by the Arts Council in 1961.
He was closly associated with Wyndham Lewis and Edward Wadsworth. In later life Epstein became well known for sculpting portrait busts but he also illustrated a number of books.Education 1902-1903Employment Designed poster for London Transport and LNER, 1934Role Artist,The Art Students League,The Academie Julian in Paris, 1903-1904