Epstein moved into 219 Stanhope Street, London, where he lived
and worked. In his first year in London he was introduced to George
Bernard Shaw and Robert Ross, as well as the artists
Augustus John, Francis Dodd, William Rotherstein and James
Muirhead Bone.
He returned briefly to New York in 1906 using a ticket sent by
his family. However, he only stayed two weeks before returning to
London and moving into Stamford Bridge Studios in Fulham with
Peggy. They married on 13 November 1906. In the same month Epstein
exhibited his first work in England, Portrait of Konhong-Sara, an
oil painting.
In 1907 Epstein moved his studio to 72 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea and
began work on his first major public commission. The architect
Charles Holden was constructing a new building in the Strand for
the British Medical Association. Holden had visited Epstein in his
studio and seen work on Girl with a Dove. He commissioned Epstein
to carve eighteen over life size figures to decorate the building.
It may not just have been admiration for Epstein's work that
resulted in the commission - the fee was very low (less than £100
per figure) which would have deterred more established
sculptors.
Epstein carved a set of male and female nudes, which were
intended as "noble and heroic forms to express in sculpture the
great primal acts of man and woman." These figures were gradually
revealed to the public as the scaffolding was removed in June and
July 1908. The uncovering of the first five statues prompted an
article in the Evening Standard on 19 June castigating the exposure
of nudity to the public gaze when it properly belonged only in art
galleries. On the 11 July the British Medical Journal reported
that "the whole Strand opposite was packed with people, most of
them girls and young men, all staring up at the statues." The
figure which drew the most outrage was Maternity, a realistic
depiction of a pregnant woman. Demands were made for the removal of
the statues, but Epstein was supported by artists, clergymen and
the director of the National Gallery, which enabled the BMA to
resist these demands.
After this contentious public exposure, Epstein returned to
figure studies and began to receive portrait commissions. In 1908
he was commissioned by Robert Ross to carve the tomb of Oscar
Wilde, and in the same year he met
Eric Gill.