But what he had not anticipated nor planned for was the addition of an assistant. And a girl at that. Miss Waldine Tauch of Brady, from Texas, was a remarkably talented young girl of 18 years, beautiful and ambitious, yet devoted to her troubled family. Like Coppini, she had endured a childhood rife with stress from a bitterly jealous and unstable mother and a father who never saw his desire to be an artist fulfilled. Her salvation came when the ladies of a local club noted her prodigious talents and wrote to Coppini, beseeching he take her as a student.

 

A young girl was the last prototype the Sculptor had in mind – because this was a man’s world that required strength, engineering skill, persistence, and grueling physical effort – certainly a female could not manage such things! Waldine proved to be these things and more; her life was one of devotion to the Coppinis. She became known as their foster daughter and served as top assistant throughout Pompeo’s life, furthering his visions even after his death, all the while earning her place in history as a renowned artist.