POMPEO COPPINI
Famous Busts in Paris
By Skipper Steely
How many times have you glanced at sculpture work
around Paris and not given a thought at its origin? Well, last spring my ten-year-old buddy and I set out to study
the Civil War in local terms. We began
at the Old City Cemetery under the west Paris water tower where are buried
various notables such as George Wright, Captain Milton Webb, John James
Richardson and 13 soldiers who died before General Sam Bell Maxey's 9th
Texas Infantry departed in January of 1862.
The next stop was at the Confederate marker on the
courthouse lawn, and impressive structure of granite with four bronze busts,
plus a soldier standing on top of it.
First question from my friend's mouth was logical: "How did they get this huge rock up
here from the railroad?" The
search for more was on!
My brother Jim Steely, the
restoration architect, has mentioned the importance of Pompeo Coppini (1870 -
1957) many times but being interested in pure history I've hardly paid much
attention. After research on the
sculptor and designer of the monument, my eyes are now opened and awed! Just like William Henry Huddle began with
Paris commissions for his art ventures, Paris handed Coppini his first project
after coming to Texas in 1901.
When his lifetime was completed, the Italian
sculptor placed works for us to enjoy at Baylor University, At Sam Houston's
grave in Huntsville, a monument to Texas revolutionists in Gonzales, the
Littlefield Foundation on the University of Texas campus, a monument in honor
of Terry's Texas Rangers on the Capitol grounds, a memorial to Charles H Noyes
of Ballinger, one for John H. Reagan in Palestine, the bronze doors of the
Scottish Rite Cathedral in San Antonio, a statue of George Washington in Mexico
City and on and on. The one most all
know best is in honor of the Alamo defenders.
It sits outside the walls of the old mission.
Coppini is represented in the United States by 36
public monuments, 16 portrait statues and about 75 portrait busts. The story of how he ended up in Paris is
incomplete, and lost locally because the First of 1916 destroyed our newspaper
files. However, in his biography
Coppini explained some of his background with Paris.
Frank Teich was a sculptor and stonecutter from
Germany who had worked on the Texas Capitol project learning stone work under
Gustav Wilke. By 1901 Teich was owner
of monumental works near Llano. He was
searching for a sculptor. Coppini got
wind of the project and was hired to do the statue of Jefferson Davis and other
figures to be e3rected on the Capitol grounds.
Somewhere during this project he heard of the Paris United Daughters of
the Confederacy desire to erect a monument on the courthouse lawn and decided
to strike out on his own. It must have
been a distasteful plan which was sent to Coppini. He writes that it was a "monstrous design."
So concerned that another ugly "disgrace to the
noble Southern cause" was about to be constructed, he came personally to
Paris. "I begged them never to go
through with the erection…" It
was not as if Paris was devoid of its own fine sculptors. Gastave Klein lived here and was making
design after design for Evergreen Cemetery and many other gravestones across
northeast Texas and southeast Oklahoma until his death in 1884. He trained others like A. B. Long and J. T.
Lynn who were still in Paris at the turn of the century. However, for some reason Coppini was chosen,
probably because of the aristocratic nature of the UDC leader, Mrs. Mary
America Aikin Connor. She at that time
was the philanthropist of Paris and even was operating a large girls school on
Pine Bluff.
Coppini said he went to the square after meeting
with the ladies, purchased a pencil and paper from probably Alexander's Book
Store, then went back to "my dingy hotel room to make a scale drawing of a
figure, a Confederate soldier on top of a pedestal and four busts adjoining it
representing General (Robert E.) Lee, Jefferson Davis, Albert Sidney Johnston
and General T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson."
The room was probably down on the corner of Kaufman and South Main at
the Merrick Hotel.
With his ruler, drawing paper and pencil Coppini
convinced the UDC of his worthiness and picked its pocket for only $5,000. He went to work on the sculpture items,
hiring Otto Zirkel of near the San Antonio studio to build the stone portion of
the monument. Teich was probably the
one who received the order to cut the stone from the Marble Falls works, the
same place that provided the Capitol and the Lamar County Courthouse with stone.
As a tribute to the private soldier, a huge
dedication ceremony was held in 1903.
Mrs. John T. Dickson, daughter of Mrs. Connor, said later a
"tremendous crowd" was present.
Former Confederate officers came from all over to give speeches.
Once upon a time the imposing monument had fine
landscaped boxwood around it but neglect, destructive winters and draughts
killed those off. Leafy grass now grows
up to the base. The expertise of the
work, however is evident upon close observation.
Dr. Bill George possesses a photograph of his
grandfather J. C. Hathaway and two women sitting on the monument base with the
previous courthouse in the background.
It is difficult to tell if the location is the same. No tales exist nor newspaper clippings have
been seen to describe how the monument survived the heat of the 1916 fire. Mutt Cross used to say the fire was like a
storm, rising from the north side square buildings, up into the air, and down
into the courthouse. So, perhaps the
Coppini works were not even scorched.
Numerous photographs taken by the UDC members from
the early 1940's up until recently show a history of the landscape plan, when
there was one. The ladies began the
chapter in 1898 and this was its second project. The first was the placement of a monument at the Old City
Cemetery in honor of the 13 men who died of measles before going off to war.
It is pretty neat to know that both Huddle and
Coppini, who both are viewed by visitors each day at the Capitol, were assisted
in the beginning by Paris money.
Contributed by Skipper
Steely, 801 W. Sherman, Paris, Texas 75460.
Used with permission.
