Jacob Epstein valuation
American-born British sculptor of controversial public carvings and powerful bronze portraits.
Sir Jacob Epstein (1880–1959) was born in New York, studied in Paris and settled in London in 1905.
What a work by Jacob Epstein is worth
Send photographs and whatever paperwork came with it. The first question is what the work actually is — edition or unique, when, and in what condition — because everything else follows from the answer. A valuation is free, made online from the photographs you send, and it commits you to nothing. We act for sellers across the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States.
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Bio
Sir Jacob Epstein (1880–1959) was born in New York, studied in Paris and settled in London in 1905. His carved figures for the British Medical Association building on the Strand caused an outcry when unveiled in 1908, and his tomb for Oscar Wilde in Paris was also controversial. Rock Drill, made from 1913 to 1915, set a machine-like figure on a real pneumatic drill and was close to the Vorticists. He later made portrait bronzes of many famous sitters and the large Saint Michael's Victory over the Devil at Coventry Cathedral. He was knighted in 1954.
What comes to market is mostly bronze portrait heads and hands, along with drawings and some carvings. Bronzes were usually cast in editions and later casts exist, so a buyer will want to know the date of casting, and to see the signature and any foundry mark. Surfaces should be checked for wear to the patina and for repairs. Provenance back to the sitter or to a named gallery adds to a work's interest.
At a glance
- Born
- 10 November 1880, New York City
- Died
- 19 August 1959, London
Whitebank Fine Art is an art advisory and gallery, not an auction house, and is not affiliated with any auction house or with the artist, their estate or their representatives. This page describes the range we advise on. Nothing here is investment advice.
