A portrait of the head of 2 year old Romily John, son of Epstein's friend, Augustus John. The work departs radically from the fussily decorative headwear favoured by Victorian sculptors. Instead the boy is wearing a burnished hemispherical cap which gives the head a completely abstracted form when viewed from the back. The tension between the abstraction of the cap and the naturalism of the head takes the work beyond that of a conventional portrait study.
More information
Title of artwork, date
Romily John, 1907
Date supported
2005
Medium and material
Bronze
Dimensions
Height: 20.3 cm
Grant
8000
Total cost
16000
Get a National Art Pass and explore The New Art Gallery Walsall
You'll see more art and your membership will help museums across the UK
National Art Pass offers available at The New Art Gallery Walsall
10% off in shop
Expires: 1 Jan 2026
Art Funded by you FAQs
Contact us
If you have a question about a work of art in our archive, please contact the Programmes team. We’ll be happy to answer your enquiry.