Kopta, Emry, 1884-1953

Emry Kopta (May 22, 1884 - May 20, 1953) was born in Austria to Vaclav and Flora Kopta. Vaclav was a distinguished concert violinist and music teacher in Czechoslovakia and the U.S.; during a tour with the New York and Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestras he met Flora Wilson, who was from a Philadelphia aristocratic family. Emry had also studied violin, but gave up when his father informed him that he'd never be a concert caliber violinist - he was nine years old.

Kopta's family moved to San Francisco when he was 16, and his father acquired a ranch in Sacramento. During a ranch accident, Emry's knee was crushed under the wheels of an overturning carriage, leading to a permanent limp, and Kopta's search for a job that would allow him to sit - he fell in love with sculpting. In 1904 he enrolled in the Mark Hopkins School of Art in San Francisco, and in 1906 he moved to France to study sculpting at the Sorbonne in Paris. In 1911 he completed his studies and moved back to Los Angeles, where he met Lon Megargee, a young artist from Arizona who later became a prominent Southwestern painter.

In 1912 Kopta and Megargee were invited to be guests of John “Don” Lorenzo Hubbell at his trading post on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. They were joined by William R. Leigh, another artist, and the three went out together to the Hopi village of Polacca to learn more about the American Indian and see the colorful Hopi ceremonies. It was in Polacca that Kopta met Tom Pavatea, a full-blooded Hopi and owner of the small trading post there. Pavatea would play an important role in Kopta's life.

Kopta fell in love with the Hopi people during this visit, and determined to continue his work among them. He soon closed out his affairs in Los Angeles and moved to Polacca. Tom Pavatea rented a bedroom and a studio space to him, and provided introductions to other members of the community. Kopta made many close relationships in the Hopi community, and was eventually adopted as a son by the Pavatea family. During his life on the reservation he would take many photographs - of daily life, some ceremonies, and of particular individuals as studies for his sculptures.

Anna Kopta (née Phelps, November 8, 1882 - April 22, 1986) was born and raised in Ohio. In 1902 she visited relatives at Fort Sill Military Reservation in Oklahoma, where a number of Apaches from Arizona were confined (including Geronimo, whom Anna met). It was at this time that Anna decided on a career of teaching at Indian schools. In 1906 she moved to Arizona and began teaching at the Phoenix Indian School.

In 1922, Emry Kopta was commissioned to design a memorial at the Phoenix Indian School for soldiers killed in World War I. While there, he and Anna met, and they were married in 1923 in Flagstaff. They continued to live on the reservation until 1925, when Emry and Anna moved to Phoenix, where they built a house and studio with a large garden, vineyard, and orchard. They continued to visit their friends at the Hopi reservation regularly, and members from the reservation would often come to Phoenix to visit them.

In 1928, Emry was commissioned to design a decorative block for use in the Arizona Biltmore Hotel by Albert Chase McArthur, chief architect and student of Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1933, Emry was commissioned to design a fountain for the Arizona State Teachers College, now Arizona State University at Tempe. The original fountain design included a bronze statue of a Hopi flute player atop a pedestal featuring Hopi Kachina designs. However, before the statue could be cast the College Board informed Kopta that the fountain would no longer include it - possibly due to lack of funds. The pedestal itself became the fountain as it is today; the model of the flute player statue was later donated to the ASU museum by Anna Kopta in 1970.

Emry Kopta died May 20, 1953 in Phoenix, Arizona at age 68. Anna continued to teach at Indian Schools in Phoenix, Gila Crossing, and Zuni (in New Mexico), and authored several articles on her experiences and friendships among American Indians. She was instrumental in having the Hubbell Trading Post declared a National Historic Site, was chosen Phoenix Woman of the Year in 1968, and Sun City Woman of the Year in 1973. In 1981 she gave a tape recorded interview with Ned Danson. Anna Kopta died April 22, 1986 in Phoenix Arizona at age 103.

From the guide to the Emry and Anna Kopta collection, 1912-1998, (The Museum of Northern Arizona)