Jacob Epstein (1880-1959), Sculptor

Sir Jacob Epstein

Sitter associated with 66 portraits
Artist of 14 portraits
The leading modernist sculptor of his day, Epstein was born in New York to Polish-Jewish parents and studied in Paris before moving to London in 1905. He quickly gained a reputation as a brilliant sculptor, creating monuments, portraits and controversial depictions of nudity. His bold work courted controversy and may have cost him an appointment as war artist and a professorship at the Royal College of Art. In spite of criticism, he regularly and successfully exhibited life-size bronzes and portraits at the Leicester Galleries. He received public recognition late in life, being knighted in 1954, and completed large commissions and numerous portraits in his last decade.