Coppini, Pompeo, 1870-1957

Pompeo Luigi Coppini (1870-1957) was born in Moglia, Italy. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence with the highest honors and emigrated to America in March 1896, married Elizabeth de Barbieri in 1897, and became a naturalized citizen in 1902. Coppini came to Texas in 1901 when he was commissioned to create the equestrian statue of Terry's Texas Rangers at Austin. In 1902 he was commissioned to execute the Albert Sidney Burleson memorial, which he considered one of his best portrait statues. The Coppinis lived in San Antonio until 1916 when they moved to Chicago and later to New York. They moved back to San Antonio where Coppini lived and worked until he retired. He published his memoirs as From Dawn to Sunset in 1949 (San Antonio: Press of the Naylor Co.).

Coppini was a promoter of the fine arts. He was founder and president emeritus of the Coppini Academy of Fine Arts in San Antonio, and he once headed the Fine Arts Department at Trinity University in San Antonio. He received an honorary degree from Baylor University in 1941, as well as many other prestigious awards, and he belonged to numerous clubs and fraternities. He was decorated posthumously with the Star of Italian Solidarity. Among his most notable works are the Littlefield Memorial Fountain at The University of Texas at Austin; the Heroes of the Alamo cenotaph in San Antonio; the equestrian statue of General John Hunt Morgan in Lexington, Kentucky; the John H. Reagan monument in Palestine, Texas.

Waldine Amanda Tauch was born in Schulenburg, Fayette County, Texas, in 1892. Soon after the Tauch family moved to Brady, Mrs. F. W. Henderson, president of the Brady Tuesday Club, became aware of Tauch's talent and arranged for her to become a pupil of the well-known sculptor Pompeo Coppini, who was then established in San Antonio. She was invited to live with the Coppinis and won the sculptor's admiration for her talent and dedication. Waldine became their foster daughter, and lived with them for the rest of their lives. Upon completion of her studies, she became Coppini's assistant and contributed to many of his most famous works. She also received commissions for monumental works, which included the Mrs. F. W. Henderson memorial in Richmond, Kentucky; Soldiers, Sailors, and Pioneer Monument in Bedford, Indiana; portrait bust of Mrs. Eli Hertzberg at the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio; the Moses Austin monument in San Antonio; The Texas Ranger of Today in Dallas; Pippa Passes at Baylor University in Waco; the Texas Independence monument in Gonzales; and the portrait monument of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Van Zandt in Canton, Texas.

Miss Tauch has received many honors. She co-founded, with Coppini, the Coppini Academy of Fine Arts in San Antonio; received an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Howard Payne College in Brownwood, Texas, in 1941; and was associate professor in the Fine Arts Department at Trinity University in San Antonio. She is also a member of many associations and societies. Her biography, From Chalk to Bronze by Alice Hutson, appeared in 1978 (Austin: Shoal Creek Publishers).