There she attended the British Museum, and came to know Jacob Epstein and Ossip Zadkine,[2] the renowned French sculptor of Russian origin and member of the Expressionist movement.

They had three daughters: Miriam (1926), a journalist, partner of Communist politician Giancarlo Pajetta; Simona (1928) member of the Italian Senate and author; and Giulia (1930), a scenographer and costume designer.

Her plastic shapes, during this phase, show a lack of influence from any Italian sculpture movement of the period, but there are distinct references to Emile-Antoine Bourdelle.

During World War II (from 1943 to 1945) Raphael stayed in Rome with her daughter Giulia, then moved again to work in Genoa with an influential group of older sculptors, though one that did not have a common style.

This included Edoardo Alfieri, Nanni Servettaz,[4] Raimondi, Camillo Maine,[5] Lorenzo Garaventa, Sandro Cherchi,[6] Agenore Fabbri,[7] Roberto Bertagnin (brother-in-law of Arturo Martini) and Luigi Navone.

Due to her free and open personality, and her diverse cultural experiences, Antonietta Raphael introduced within the Roman circle a note of unconventional internationalism.