3D Scanning Fine Art Sculpture – Sir Jacob Epstein

Special Project Feature – Sir Jacob Epstein Sculpture – TUC Headquarters, London (3D Scanning Fine Art Sculpture).

One of the things I love about the specialised work we do is the rich diversity of priceless fine art and heritage objects that we get asked to digitally capture. As ‘Forrest Gump’ said, “You never know what you’re going to get!”. 

Hence, we occasionally get asked to 3D digitally capture a piece of fine art sculpture that truly resonates as the work of a true master. One such recent project (2025) was the TUC’s amazing ‘Sir Jacob Epstein’ statue, located within their prestigious central London headquarters building.  

This massive sculpture (official erection year 1958) was commissioned for the building as a war memorial commemorating the sacrifices of trade unionists in the two world wars. Our brief was to obtain a high-resolution 3D digital scan of this imposing work of art, as the TUC were looking to relocate their headquarters to downsize their operation and reduce operating costs.

Hence, our client wanted to protect this very important work of art (Sir Jacob Epstein’s last major work) that forms a key part of the TUC’s history. We were therefore retained to carry out a high resolution 3D digital scan of this unique sculpture, in order to create a highly accurate 3D digital backup.

Now that we have carried out these works, this 3D digital data provides an important insurance backup, but will also enable us to later reinstate some form of physical representation (perhaps in bronze) within the TUC’s new headquarters, once the sale of ‘Congress House’ is concluded, and the TUC have found a suitable alternative HQ premises.

Of course, the original sculpture is a highly valuable and important work of art in its own right, and therefore needs to remain in its original location, as it forms another key element of London’s rich historical and cultural heritage.

Given the statues huge scale and its precarious location, looking down over an immense glass hexagonal ceiling structure located above a large lower-ground floor conference facility, our 3D digital capture task was always going to be reasonably challenging, especially factoring in H&S considerations. However, with some careful problem solving and planning, we were able to facilitate a successful 3D digital acquisition, as can be seen below. 

3D Scanning Fine Art Sculpture – Final Renders of Our 3D Scan

TUC Building & Statue History / Background

Here’s an interesting article (link) by Spike Magazine with photos outlining the context of this important sculpture, and an interesting critique of it’s maintenance over the years. 

From the TUC: “The fourth side of the building consists of the memorial wall with this imposing sculpture by Sir Jacob Epstein carved on the spot from a single ten-ton block of Roman stone. A plaster maquette (or miniature) for the work was displayed in the ‘Bevin Room’ next to the general secretary’s office. However, this maquette differs from the final work in a number of important respects, most notably that the figure of the soldier carrying a wounded comrade has become a mother carrying her fallen son. It is also documented that David McFall assisted Epstein with this sculpture.

Unfortunately, this amazing TUC sculpture was Epstein’s last major work as he became seriously unwell in the final stages of the project and sadly passed away in August 1959 before the statues grand unveiling. 

Head Office of the Trade Union Congress (TUC). 

The building was designed by ‘David du R Aberdeen’ and built in 1957 with a courtyard at the centre, open to the sky, holding the Epstein statue, visible from the cafe. c.2016 the courtyard was covered with a transparent roof. 

C20 Society writes: “David Aberdeen (1913-1987) was not a prolific architect. His other main works are the Aircraft Assembly Buildings at Filton, Bristol, for which he was joint architect with Eric Ross, 1947-9, and the Swiss Centre in Leicester Square, 1961-8.” 

June 2024: The Mirror reported: “‘Dismay as headquarters of TUC up for sale as trade union memberships plunge'”. 

A Special Thank You! – Thank you once again to Andrea and your team for helping us coordinate all on-site logistics and assisting with the initial planning stages of the project. This was very much appreciated. Also, another great S3D team effort and result (well done Stephan). 

3D Scanning Fine Art Sculpture – From 3D Digital Scans to Identical Physical Replicas at Any Scale!

This particular project provides a great working example of how we can 3D scan a a fine art sculpture and then convert the hi-res 3D digital model data into an identical physical replica using ether 3D printing or CNC milling (for larger replicas). Such processes also enable us to produce an identical bronze sculpture at any scale, following a traditional bronze foundry lost wax casting procedure.

Here’s a link to a couple of previous digital to physical projects we handled (original T.E Lawrence bronze bust exact reproduction) and (priceless 12th Century Ivory tablet insurance reproduction).

Please get in touch to find out more (Contact).