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Jacob Epstein (1880ñ1959), First Portrait of Roma of Barbados
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Description
Jacob Epstein (1880–1959) First Portrait of Roma of Barbados Bronze Edition of up to 6 (two other casts known) Epstein made several portraits of Black women in the 1920s and 1930s, including two of this sitter. Although Epstein calls her ‘Roma of Barbados’, Roma was born in West Ham, in 1905 to a Black Caribbean father and white mother. In the 1939 census, she described herself as a ‘film and stage artist’. In 1933, Epstein made a second portrait of Roma, which includes her upper torso. The proudly-held head and wide-eyed, slightly dreamy gaze imbue this first study with great dignity, serenity, and timelessness. The bust-length portrait of Roma made the following year is arguably less successful because the head is more generalised, and its impact is diluted by an unconvincing torso, which appears unfinished. Dimensions: 16 in. (H) (Bronze) 35.5 cm (H)
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Jacob Epstein (1880–1959) First Portrait of Roma of Barbados Bronze Edition of up to 6 (two other casts known) Epstein made several portraits of Black women in the 1920s and 1930s, including two of this sitter. Although Epstein calls her ‘Roma of Barbados’, Roma was born in West Ham, in 1905 to a Black Caribbean father and white mother. In the 1939 census, she described herself as a ‘film and stage artist’. In 1933, Epstein made a second portrait of Roma, which includes her upper torso. The proudly-held head and wide-eyed, slightly dreamy gaze imbue this first study with great dignity, serenity, and timelessness. The bust-length portrait of Roma made the following year is arguably less successful because the head is more generalised, and its impact is diluted by an unconvincing torso, which appears unfinished. Dimensions: 16 in. (H) (Bronze) 35.5 cm (H)
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