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In 1905 Jacob Epstein moved from Paris to London, where he soon became acquainted with Augustus John. Two years later he executed a bronze head of the painter's son Romilly John (1906-1986). This powerful carving of the same subject reveals the influence of Primitive sculpture and Eric Gill, who carved the inscription ROM on its base. In 1911 Epstein described Rom as 'the Eternal Child, one of the flanking figures of a group apotheosising Man and Woman, around a central shrine ... for a great temple'.