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 (spy) the Gnome Project, which was the secret plan to free Ramón Mercader, Leon Trotsky's murderer, from jail. Epstein is referenced in Venona decrypt 800 New York to Moscow 28 May 1943, and another decrypt on 30 May 1943. The material cites Epstein as having placed two agents in the prison where Mercader was held. The plan called for moving Mercader out of Mexico once the jailbreak was made. Venona decrypt 193–194 Mexico City to Moscow, 14 March 1944 identifies Anna Colloms, while on a courier mission to Mexico, reporting the KGB detected surveillance of Ruth Wilson, Epstein's wife, and Colloms,