Lillian Rose Vorhaus Kruskal Oppenheimer (October 24, 1898 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
– July 24, 1992) was an American
origami
) is the Japanese art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a f ...
pioneer. She popularized origami in the West starting in the 1950s, and is credited with popularizing the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
term ''origami'' in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
-speaking circles, which gradually supplanted the literal translation ''paper folding'' that had been used earlier. In the 1960s she co-wrote several popular books on origami with
Shari Lewis
Shari Lewis (born Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz; January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was a Peabody-winning American ventriloquist, puppeteer, children's entertainer, television show host, dancer, singer, actress, author, and symphonic conductor. She wa ...
.
Lillian Oppenheimer ran an informal group of dedicated folders in the New York City area, and in 1978 she co-founded, with
Alice Gray and
Michael Shall, the non-profit
Friends of the Origami Center. After Oppenheimer's death, it was renamed OrigamiUSA. it is the largest origami organization in the United States.
History of OrigamiUSA
/ref>
Oppenheimer was born to a Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family of Austrian, Hungarian, and Czech origin, the daughter of Bernard Vorhaus, an attorney who made a living importing furs.[American Jewish Archives: "Two Baltic Families Who Came to America The Jacobsons and the Kruskals, 1870-1970" by RICHARD D. BROWN]
January 24, 1972 Oppenheimer is the mother of William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, Molly, Rosaly, Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austr ...
, and Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
.
Books
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*
*
*
Notes
External links
*
Photo of Lillian Oppenheimer on Origami USA website
1898 births
1992 deaths
Origami artists
American Jews
{{US-artist-stub