Winged Figure in 1961. John Lewis originally approached Jacob Epstein to create a sculpture to decorate the plain Portland stone side wall of the new store, but he declined as he was engaged on other commissions. Instead, in May 1961, John Lewis asked six other artists to propose designs. In addition to Hepworth – whose breakthrough public sculpture, "Meridian", had recently been installed outside State House on Holborn – the others were Ralph Brown, Geoffrey Clarke, Tony Hollaway, Stefan Knapp, William Mitchell and Hans Tisdall. None of their initial designs was accepted. Hepworth had been asked to express "the idea of common
Jacob Epstein (banker) Polish noblemen. Jacob Epstein (banker) Jacob Epstein (1771 – 16 August 1843) was a Polish banker and philanthropist of Jewish descent. In early manhood he went to Warsaw, where he succeeded in amassing a large fortune and became one of the most prominent figures in the old Polish capital. He was the first Jew in Warsaw to discard the old-style Jewish garb and to dress himself and his family in European fashion. In the November Uprising of 1830–31 Epstein took the part of his oppressed countrymen, and was an officer in the insurrectionary army; but later he seems to have