Demons and Angels: A Life of Jacob Epstein [Hardcover]

June Rose (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0786710004 | ISBN-13: 978-0786710003

“I feel that I can do the best, most profound things and life is short. How I wish I was living in an age when man wanted to raise temples to man or God or the Devil.” Jacob Epstein was thirty when he wrote these impassioned words. Now recognized as a seminal figure in the history of twentieth-century art, his powerful and often explicit sculptures, monumental in scale, were hailed as the work of a genius by a few contemporary figures such as Ezra Pound and Augustus John, but produced hostility and censoriousness from the art establishment. His is a true rags-to-riches story. Epstein was born in 1880 in the Jewish Ghetto of New York but emigrated to Europe to live a bohemian life, with a wife and several mistresses in a domestic menage. By the time of his death in 1959 he had met almost everybody of importance in the art world and many in political and other spheres. He endured public scandals caused by the nudity of his so-called Strand Statues (1907-1908; destroyed 1937) and the debauched-looking angel on his 1912 memorial for Oscar Wilde, but in 1946 he modeled the portrait of Sir Winston Churchill and was himself knighted in 1954. It is a comment on changing tastes that Epstein’s magnificent carving in alabaster, “Jacob and the Angel,” once refused by the Tate Gallery, now stands in the Central Sculpture Hall of Tate Britain. His sculpture, drawing, and other work are to be found in museums and art galleries all over the world. Daemons and Angels, the first biography in fifty years of this controversial sculptor, features black-and-white photographs throughout.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Like many artists, the sculptor Jacob Epstein (1880-1959) was a potpourri of contradictions. Born in America, he lived most of his adult life in England. He was reviled in the popular press for his controversial early work (such as the debauched angel created to adorn the Paris tomb of Oscar Wilde), but he was knighted in 1954, near the end of his life. Finally, though he was born and raised Jewish, he created some of the most powerful Christian imagery of the 20th century. The author of a number of biographies, including one on Epstein's contemporary and friend Amedeo Modigliani (Modigliani: The Pure Bohemian), Rose has compiled a solid and often compelling work that strikes an excellent balance between the artist's work and his tempestuous and confusing personal life (a truly bohemian stew of wives, mistresses, models, children, and dogs). Though Epstein had created portraits throughout his career, in his later years he became the sculptor of choice for many of the world's most famous names. Among those who sat for him at the height of his popularity were writers T.S. Eliot and W. Somerset Maugham, Winston Churchill, India's Prime Minister Nehru, and the actress Gina Lollobrigida. Rose provides insightful commentary on the relationships between Epstein and his varied clients. Highly recommended for larger collections of 20th-century art. Martin R. Kalfatovic, Smithsonian Institution Libs., Washington, DC
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Although American-born Epstein was a brilliant and much sought-after portraitist, creating dramatic busts of luminaries such as Joseph Conrad and Albert Einstein, his radical stone sculptures of "angelic and demonic forces" were so controversial in England, his adopted home, that he "attracted more insults and brutal attacks" than any of his contemporaries. Yet, in spite of continual front-page outrage driven by prudery--Epstein's work embodied his fascination with sex and procreation--and anti-Semitism, Epstein was nearly forgotten after his death in 1959 at age 79. Rose, a gracious and compelling biographer who has also written about Modigliani and Suzanne Valadon, remedies that neglect with an astute chronicle of Epstein's multifaceted life and accomplishments. As spiritual as he was carnal, as influenced by Whitman and African art as by the Bible, Epstein, always short on funds but rich in the love of remarkable women, realized his artistic dreams only to see his masterpieces defaced and displayed as sideshow attractions. But, as Rose reveals, adversity fueled his creative fire, and Epstein will be remembered as the gifted visionary he truly was. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (June 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786710004
• ISBN-13: 978-0786710003
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,686,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Bitter Disappointment, August 2, 2002

By 

Stephen Grey (Burlington, VT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Demons and Angels: A Life of Jacob Epstein (Hardcover)

I had high expectations for this book on master sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein as it was coming from the author of one of my favourite books, a biography of artist Suzanne Valadon. Sadly, it is a great disappointment. It seems a very sketchy biography at best, covering ground that has been previously explored by former Epstein biographers and presenting no new discoveries of its own. There are also major flaws in showing Epstein's humourous side such as his bizarre encounter with the eccentric Marchesa Casati. Casati is not mentioned at all, even though her bust is one of Epstein's masterpieces. Also, author June Rose completely leaves out any mention of the scandal that followed Epstein's death when castings were made of many of the artist's best works and sold as Epstein originals. Additionally, the illustrations are a badly selected lot, with not even a single photograph of the sculptor's spectacular tomb for Oscar Wilde in Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. For the definitive biography of Epstein please read Stephen Gardiner's "Epstein: Artist Against the Establishment" or Epstein's own wonderful autobiography "Let There Be Sculpture". After such excellent work as the aforementioned biography of Valadon and her volume on Modigliani, I sincerely hope that Ms. Rose's next book returns her to the top of her form.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars dismay, October 24, 2002

By 

jane babson (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Demons and Angels: A Life of Jacob Epstein (Hardcover)

This book repeats without permission without proper attribution of original material found in my book THE EPSTEINS A FAMILY ALBUM published in London in 1984