Sir Jacob Epstein (1880-1959)
American-born, Sir Jacob Epstein (1880-1959) was one of the leading modernists sculptors of the 20th century. Epstein spent the early years of his life based in New York, eventually travelling to Paris to study art at the École des Beaux-Arts (1902–3) and the Académie Julian (1903–4), sharing an appreciation for Indian and West African art traditions. He moved to London in 1905 And in 1907 received his first major British commission, creating eighteen nude sculptures for the facade of the British Medical Association Building (now Zimbabwe House) on the Strand. Well known for his monuments and portraits, he advocated many of the concepts central to modernist sculpture, including 'truth to material', direct carving, and inspiration from so-called primitive art, all of which became central to twentieth-century practice.
