I was recently contacted by a person that owns a Laruccia copper sculpture. It is a great example of the wire-wound copper pieces Laruccia made in the mid 1960s. The gold-plated wire winding are in great shape, which is not usually the case. It appears to be made of copper tubing and set on a rare wood base. Dominick hand finished his own wooden bases and used woods like ebony, rosewood and zebra woods. They were finished on a belt sander with successively finer abrasives. The metal work was done using a bronze like, phosphorus alloy.
Here is her email.
"I have a Laruccia wire sculpture, given to me by my dear friend, Pauline French. I think Pauline and DL may have been friends. Pauline and her husband, Robert, owned a retail nursery somewhere in Orange County, where the 55 freeway now runs. Robert was a sculptor, Pauline an artist. They were a totally unusual, fascinating couple! Robert insisted that they change their lives every 7 years. They were managers of The Players Club, owned by Preston Sturges, on Sunset in Hollywood. Robert built PS a yacht during that time. Huntington Hartford bought their home, which Pauline had designed, for a mistress. They opened a cafe on the Left Bank in Paris. I have some of Pauline's cookbooks from that period; also her complete collection of Cordon Bleu copper cookware from the cafe. Robert had been an Olympic diver, Pauline worker for Disney when they met. Pauline had been one of the models for Disney's Snow White. Her voice sounded exactly like Snow White's! Robert had showings of his sculptures. I have a photo of Robert with Vincent Price, with the large piece VP bought. Pauline was a prolific artist The walls of her home were covered with paintings. She painted whatever struck her fancy at the time. Her last painting was of a pink upholstered chair! And it was beautiful! Unfortunately, when she died, she left all Robert's sculptures and her paintings to her brother; Pauline and Robert had no children. I live in the house she designed after Robert died. She gave it to me and my husband, whom she thought of as her son. She died around 1990. I still miss her. She was , by far, the most intelligent, interesting person I have ever met."
What a great story. My reply...
I recall a story Dominick told me about the difference when Pauline water the plants verses an employee. The observation was her method saturated the soil and the employee merely moistened the dirt. I was not aware that Dominick had been hit by a car. On one occasion back in the late 70s, I had a visit and noticed a limp. The story he told was that he had attempted suicide and failed. He was unconscious on the floor of his flat in Queens for several days and the immobility caused nerve damage in one leg.
Some time, about 2003 I attempted to see him and went to his flat in Queens only to find tradesmen their renovating an empty space. As best I could gather from the Puerto Rican neighbor was that he had gone to live with a brother in law. A letter addressed to him in 2006 was returned. In February of 2011, I read an obituary that he passed on January 26, 2011. I did speak to a distant cousin, Victor Laruccia, and he had a few recollections of "il genio."
I did meet his sister and kids once in the early 70s, Palmyra I think was her name. She was visiting the west coast and I helped with transportation. I can imagine that the sister and Dominick had problems. I recall a conversation with him once when he said, I got ride of all the nuts and crazy people in my life, and no one is left. He did have an eccentric personality. I new felt he has a strong NY accent.
I find wisps of his life on the internet such as a patent from Borax that bears his name, a national flute school directory and a reference to a recording in the NY Public Library he made as a young man.
