George Bernard Shaw
- Artist: Sir Jacob Epstein
- Date: 1934
- Medium: bronze
- Dimensions: 22 7/8 in. x 9 1/2 in. (580 mm x 240 mm) overall
- Portrays: George Bernard Shaw
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
This bronze bust of George Bernard Shaw was crafted in 1934 by Sir Jacob Epstein, a sculptor who had already helped Shaw establish himself as an artist in London back in 1905. The piece is modestly sized – just over 22 and three‑quarters inches tall and a little over nine inches wide – so you can see the details up close.
Notice how Epstein captured Shaw’s head and upper shoulders with smooth bronze work, almost as if the surface held his likeness in still life. The bust shows the actor‑like profile of Shaw, his eyes set firmly forward, and that slight tilt of the head that conveys a ready smile. The metal glints differently from different angles, giving the figure an almost alive quality.
In 1934 Shaw sat for this portrait, stripping to his waist – something Epstein found disconcerting. Yet the sculptor settled on a reduced version, feeling it captured “elements so subtle…” that he could hardly explain.
Shaw himself was an Irish‑born playwright and critic whose works such as *Major Barbara* and *Pygmalion* broke with Victorian melodrama. He won the Nobel Prize in 1925, and his influence spanned theatre, film and radio. This bust entered the National Portrait Gallery’s primary collection in 1958, a fitting tribute to a man who shaped early twentieth‑century drama.
See it in person
George Bernard Shaw is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, 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.
