Doves
- Artist: Sir Jacob Epstein
- Date: 1914–15
- Medium: Greek marble
- Dimensions: object: 648 x 787 x 343 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is “Doves” by Sir Jacob Epstein. The marble block here was carved directly into Greek marble, a technique that was new for British sculptors at the time—artists normally made wax or clay models first. The sculpture shows two birds in copulation, united along the length of their bodies so the forms stay within a single block; only at the neck do they separate to reveal heads and wings. Epstein used this simplified geometry after studying African and Oceanic carvings that he had collected earlier in his life.
The piece dates from 1914–15, when Epstein was working in England following a stint in Paris where he met Brancusi and Picasso. In London he exhibited several groups of doves; “Doves” is one of the three marble versions that later appeared at Christie’s and the Tate collection. The work captures both the vitality of courtship and Epstein’s interest in bold, almost abstract shapes derived from non‑European sources.
You’ll notice how shallow cuts and a planar treatment give the sculpture a lightness despite its stone medium—an approach that would influence artists like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth in their later direct-carving explorations.
See it in person
Doves is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
