Sir Jacob Epstein K.B.E. (British 1880-1959) §
First Portait of Kitty (with Curls), conceived 1944
£8,125
Auction: 29 April 2022 from 10:00 BST
Description
Bronze with brown patina
Dimensions
37cm high (14.5in high) (excluding base)
Provenance
Provenance:
The Estate of Dr Renate Davis;
Private Collection, UK.
Footnote
Literature:
Silber, Evelyn, The Sculpture of Epstein, Phaidon, Oxford, 1986, p.195, cat. no. 356 (plaster cast illustrated).
Once established in his career, Jacob Epstein was frequently commissioned to create portrait busts. Subsequently, they represent a significant proportion of his output.
According to biographer June Rose he would first meticulously study his subject from all angles, “noting the shape of the skull, the relation of the features to each other and to the whole, and the dissimilarity between the two sides of the face.” He had a tremendous aptitude for conveying an accurate mental as well as physiological likeness. Since his more experimental beginnings, Epstein had been regarded as a member of the avant-garde and, as such, opposed to the strictures placed upon art practise by the traditional institutions. This cemented his popularity among more liberal patrons.
One such client was Ellen Jansen, a poet and member of a bohemian American set, who commissioned the bust of herself in 1931. She married the theatrical producer Maurice Browne, a founder of the Chicago branch of the Little Theatre. This constituted a movement which, in reaction to the increasing popularity of cinema, aimed to produce a more intimate “reform-minded” theatrical experience. Epstein counters her sharp ‘Louise Brooks’ bob with a serene smile. This remains one of the few busts he created where his sitter displays anything other than a rather enigmatic, reflective expression.
Epstein also depicted his family on several occasions. This bust of his daughter Kitty (with curls) was conceived in 1944 and was the first of three he created in her likeness. She was the daughter of his long-term mistress and latterly second wife Kathleen Garman who, famously, was shot in the shoulder with a pearl-handled pistol by his first wife Margaret. Kitty herself went on to become the artist Lucien Freud’s first wife, and was the muse behind several of his seminal early works such as ‘Girl with Kitten’ and ‘Girl with a White Dog’.