cover image Epstein: 2artist Against the Establishment

Epstein: 2artist Against the Establishment

Stephen Gardiner. Viking Books, $35 (544pp) ISBN 978-0-670-81558-6

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. (July)