Rock Drill (Jacob Epstein) with its straining to one purpose, is a vivid illustration of the greatest function of life.' In 1940, however, recalling the horrors of the 1914–18 war in the context of the Second World War, Epstein reinterpreted the sculpture much more negatively: Study for Rock Drill (c. 1913) is a × charcoal drawing by Epstein which is part of The Garman Ryan Collection at The New Art Gallery Walsall. Whilst the exact date of the sketch is unknown, because it is a preparatory study for Epstein's full sculpture "Rock Drill", it has been dated to 1913. Epstein dismantled the original sculpture:
Jacob Epstein marble halls of Highbury for many years before being moved to the new Emirates Stadium. During the Second World War, Epstein was asked to undertake six commissions for the War Artists' Advisory Committee. After completing bronze busts of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham, General Sir Alan Cunningham, and Air Marshal Sir Charles Portal - and Ernest Bevin, Epstein accepted a commission to create busts of John Anderson and Winston Churchill. He completed a bust of Winston Churchill in early 1947. Epstein's aluminium figure of Christ in Majesty (1954–55), is suspended above the nave in Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff, on