Φ Sir Jacob Epstein (1880–1959)

Φ Sir Jacob Epstein (1880–1959)
Second Portrait of George Bernard Shaw (Head)
Signed Epstein (to the back of neck)
Bronze with green patina, on a black stone base, conceived in 1934
43.8 x 22 x 29.4cm

Provenance:
Acquired from the artist by Mr and Mrs Maurice Linder, Hewlett Bay Park, Long Island;
From whom acquired by a previous owner, 1989;
By whom sold, Sotheby's New York, Impressionist & Modern Art including Russian and Latin American Art, 6 October 2009, lot 119;
Boundary Gallery, London, where purchased by Jack and Dora Black, November 2009;
The Collection of the Late Jack and Dora Black

Exhibited:
London, Boundary Gallery, Jacob Epstein 50th Anniversary Exhibition, October-December 2009

Literature:
Jacob Epstein, Let There Be Sculpture (London, 1940), pp.99-101 (another cast illustrated);
Jacob Epstein, An Autobiography (London, 1955), pp.81-83 (another cast illustrated);
Richard Buckle, Jacob Epstein Sculpture (London, 1963), pp.210-11, pl.323 (another cast illustrated);
Evelyn Silber, The Sculpture of Epstein (Oxford, 1986), p.178, no.253, cast 17 (another cast illustrated)

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was a lifelong supporter and staunch defender of Jacob Epstein's work. It was Shaw who helped Epstein become established in London, and the sculptor acknowledged that ‘Throughout my life in England, Shaw was an outspoken champion of my work ... He was generous to young talent'. However, despite this loyal support, it was not until 1934, when he was in his seventies, that Shaw sat for his portrait by Epstein, as the playwright wanted the work to be a commission, so that the artist would ‘benefit materially and not just do his bust for its own sake’.

When he arrived for his sitting Shaw stripped to the waist, and although there is a variation of the bronze which includes the torso, Epstein preferred this reduced version. Of the sittings Epstein recalled ‘Shaw sat with exemplary patience and even eagerness. He walked to my studio every day, and was punctual and conscientious. He wisecracked of course.’

The present work exemplifies the qualities that made Epstein a great portraitist. His best work often derived from his interaction with extremely talented sitters. By the 1920s Epstein was widely regarded as one of Britain's leading avant-garde sculptors, despite his refusal to flatter his sitters. This commitment to verisimilitude was admired by Shaw and it is this candid, expressive style that brings the present example alive. Shaw himself wrote that 'I sit patiently and you do exactly what you want to do, which is, to strip from me the mask of civilisation. Then you went on to perform marvels of modelling on lips and cheeks and mouth with all the mastery that makes the busts precious'. Epstein thought ‘there are in it elements so subtle that they would be difficult to explain’.