- Hardcover: 560 pages
- Publisher: Michael Joseph (Oct 22 1992)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 071812944X
- ISBN-13: 978-0718129446
- Product Dimensions: 24 x 15.6 x 4.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 980 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Jacob Epstein (1880-1959) was "the most vilified artist of the century," writes Gardiner. Born on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the magnetic sculptor, who settled in London in 1905, declared war on the ornate and pretty. To the English establishment, Epstein was an "American-Jewish monster," the embodiment of corrupting modern art; his bold works of soaring spirit were vilified out of puritanical zeal and anti-Semitism. Gardiner ( Le Corbusier ), who knew Epstein and his family well, has fashioned a towering, kinetic portrait of a giant of art who nevertheless remains a bit elusive. Epstein's loyalties were divided between his ailing wife Margaret Dunlop, who selflessly devoted herself to him, and his much younger mistress Kathleen Garman. Crazed with jealousy, Margaret shot and wounded Kathleen, but later came to accept her presence. To Gardiner, Epstein is an artist who forged "a supreme vision of the world" framed by the constants of nature, creation, death and the soul's potentiality. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Famed sculptor Jacob Epstein is treated substantively here in this elegant synthesis of biography and art historical examination. As a personal friend of the artist and his family, Gardiner received access to much information about his subject. The author provides a very rich and in-depth portrait of a complicated man; however, the real success of this book is in the steady balance between Epstein's life and art. Epstein's powerful sculptures, both figurative and abstract, evoke their time. He was an important Modernist groundbreaker who would pay dearly for his ideals, but the rewards came as well. An American who retained close ties with the New York art world even after his emigration to England, Epstein endured many personal and artistic struggles. This "meaty" book pays tribute to the artist who was a leader in spite of himself. Recommended for public and academic collections covering modern art.
- Paula A. Baxter, NYPL
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Paula A. Baxter, NYPL
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Portrait of a british colossus,
By Anglo Jackson (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Epstein (Hardcover)
Epstein is avant garde sculpture in England in the first quarter of the century with one sole accomplice, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (see Jim Ede's "Savage Messiah") and the position of "Rock-Drill" or his tomb for Oscar Wiled in Paris in its current form is unquestioned and honourably placed in any anthology of British art, his "doves" (commissioned by John Quinn of the NY Met), "Head of Romilly John", "Tommy", or "Maternity" are of clear and unquestionable importance, and his draughtsmanship from that period is outstandingly good.Riding the crest of tribal art he aroused huge suspicion and great animosity leading to public commissions being tarred and feathered and the purchase of several of his major works (from the secondary market) by the waxworks king, Louis Tussauds, for a sort of shilling-a-time peep show in Blackpool for people who wanted to be shocked. Because he was not formally innovative beyond this modernism (with roots in tribal art and contemporary machines) he is, rightly or wrongly, ignored by anthologers of 20th century art as a whole taking a clear 2nd place to Lipschitz and Laurens and the Cubist sculptors and, in England, and most gallingly to Epstein himself, Henry Moore. Fortunately despite his periodic vilification in England he was given public commissions especially after WWII where the extensive building program gave plenty of opportunity and his work can be seen in Coventry Cathedral, Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, The Trade Unions Congress War Memorial etc. This later work is a move away from the totem symbolism to expressionist figurative sculpture of a type, I would say, more convincing than Barlach and carving out a position easiest described as a sort of sculptural Lucien Freud. Stephen Gardiner is described as being a hagiographer. This is true, he pins his colours very firmly to the wall. He is an Epstein partisan but wow he tells the story well and whatever you think of Epstein's art his life is a hell of a story with wives and mistresses coming and going, fellow artists (Augustus John, Henry Moore, Eric Gill, Matthew Smith) befriended and blasted with all the tact of Wyndham Lewis, with public praise and public villification, rags and riches too many times over etc. Gardiner does not hide Epstein's callousness with friends and colleagues, even criticises him in dulcet tones (very ) occasionally such as E's "paranoia" about the veracity of Augustus John's friendship towards him, but on the whole he makes it perfectly clear that he thinks Epstein is a great genius and that this excuses everything. But This never prevents him from giving us the evidence to make up our own minds differently. And a biographer who was less passionate about Epstein would never have commanded the same wealth of detail and passion to sustain our interest unflaggingly through what is, in the end, a large biography about an artist who spent most of his time with his chisel and a large block of stone. Very juicy stuff.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review) 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Portrait of a british colossus,
By Anglo Jackson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Epstein (Hardcover)
Epstein is avant garde sculpture in England in the first quarter of the century with one sole accomplice, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (see Jim Ede's "Savage Messiah") and the position of "Rock-Drill" or his tomb for Oscar Wiled in Paris in its current form is unquestioned and honourably placed in any anthology of British art, his "doves" (commissioned by John Quinn of the NY Met), "Head of Romilly John", "Tommy", or "Maternity" are of clear and unquestionable importance, and his draughtsmanship from that period is outstandingly good.Riding the crest of tribal art he aroused huge suspicion and great animosity leading to public commissions being tarred and feathered and the purchase of several of his major works (from the secondary market) by the waxworks king, Louis Tussauds, for a sort of shilling-a-time peep show in Blackpool for people who wanted to be shocked. Because he was not formally innovative beyond this modernism (with roots in tribal art and contemporary machines) he is, rightly or wrongly, ignored by anthologers of 20th century art as a whole taking a clear 2nd place to Lipschitz and Laurens and the Cubist sculptors and, in England, and most gallingly to Epstein himself, Henry Moore. Fortunately despite his periodic vilification in England he was given public commissions especially after WWII where the extensive building program gave plenty of opportunity and his work can be seen in Coventry Cathedral, Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, The Trade Unions Congress War Memorial etc. This later work is a move away from the totem symbolism to expressionist figurative sculpture of a type, I would say, more convincing than Barlach and carving out a position easiest described as a sort of sculptural Lucien Freud. Stephen Gardiner is described as being a hagiographer. This is true, he pins his colours very firmly to the wall. He is an Epstein partisan but wow he tells the story well and whatever you think of Epstein's art his life is a hell of a story with wives and mistresses coming and going, fellow artists (Augustus John, Henry Moore, Eric Gill, Matthew Smith) befriended and blasted with all the tact of Wyndham Lewis, with public praise and public villification, rags and riches too many times over etc. Gardiner does not hide Epstein's callousness with friends and colleagues, even criticises him in dulcet tones (very ) occasionally such as E's "paranoia" about the veracity of Augustus John's friendship towards him, but on the whole he makes it perfectly clear that he thinks Epstein is a great genius and that this excuses everything. But This never prevents him from giving us the evidence to make up our own minds differently. And a biographer who was less passionate about Epstein would never have commanded the same wealth of detail and passion to sustain our interest unflaggingly through what is, in the end, a large biography about an artist who spent most of his time with his chisel and a large block of stone. Very juicy stuff. |
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