About The Coppini

Coppini Academy of Fine Arts

501(c)(3) Nonprofit, established 1945
115 Melrose Pl., San Antonio, TX 78212

The Coppini Academy of Fine Arts is dedicated to representational art. Founded in 1945 by Pompeo Luigi Coppini, an Italian-born sculptor renowned for public monuments, the academy has become a place where artists hone their skills in an environment emphasizing the technical and aesthetic principles of traditional art.

Coppini’s legacy includes numerous works such as the Alamo Cenotaph. A significant figure in the academy’s history is Waldine Tauch, Coppini’s protégé and an accomplished sculptor who continued Coppini’s educational mission, mentoring new generations of artists and strengthening the academy’s reputation for representational training.

Coppini also played a role in the early development of Fiesta San Antonio, helping gather funders and supporters to establish the Knights of Omala (Alamo spelled backward), which evolved into the Order of the Alamo.

Coppini Academy to Sell Replicas of Founder's Original Fiesta Medal (San Antonio Report)

The academy champions the study of the human figure, landscape, and still life, fostering a community committed to mastering classical technique. Through educational programs and community outreach, Coppini continues to inspire artists and art lovers, keeping the heritage of representational art vibrant and relevant today.

Waldine Amanda Tauch (1892–1986)

A sculptor whose preferred media was bronze, Waldine Tauch was born in 1892 in Schulenburg, Texas, and moved to Brady, Texas as a teenager. She showed talent early, drawing from photographs and sculpting in clay, then carving chalk, soap, wood, and stone. As a teen, the Brady Tuesday Study Club supported her by raising money for her to study in San Antonio with Pompeo Coppini—beginning in 1910, two weeks before her high school graduation.

Coppini Academy of Fine Arts is the birthplace of the “Spirit of Sacrifice” Monument to the Alamo heroes. Coppini built this studio in 1936 when he received the commission for a monument honoring the fallen heroes of the Battle of the Alamo.