After Hitler’s accession to the German Chancellorship in 1933, the renowned German-Jewish physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955), who was on a lecture tour in the USA, was unable to return to Germany and spent some months in Europe. He came to England in June and held lectures in Oxford and Glasgow, also meeting Winston Churchill. In September, Einstein spent three weeks at a secluded army camp near Cromer, Norfolk, at the invitation of Oliver Locker-Lampson MP. During this period, he also sat for Epstein for two hours each morning. Epstein noted how 'Einstein appeared dressed very comfortably in a pullover with his wild hair floating in the wind. His glance contained a mixture of the humane, the humorous, and the profound. This was a combination that delighted me. He resembled the ageing Rembrandt'. However, Einstein left to take up a professorship at Princeton in October, before the bust was completed. Before leaving for America, Einstein gave a speech in the Royal Albert Hall, attended by a crowd of 10,000, praising democracy and warning of the dangers ahead.

Other casts are in the Tate, London; Science Museum, London; University of Liverpool; City Art Gallery, Birmingham; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; and in a number of private collections.

In May 1934 a cast was exhibited at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition, causing the Jewish Chronicle to comment that 'This year's Royal Academy is dignified by the presence of one work of art— Epstein's head of Einstein'.