This page is dedicated to the late origami masters that have influenced thousands of artists throughout the years.

Jeff Beynon United Kingdom Life Jeff Beynon was born in Wales in 1954 and studied Graphic Design at Art College in Bath before settling in the small town of Corsham near Bristol. For many years, he worked as a gardener in…
Jean-Claude Correia France Jean-Claude Correia was an influential figure in the world of paper folding and origami. He co-founded the Mouvement Français des Plieurs de Papier (MFPP). His work was mostly abstract and was presented in various museums and galleries all over the world.
Patricia Crawford United States Patricia A Crawford (25 October 1940 – 28 May 2014) was an American origamist in the late ‘60s / early ’70s who was a contemporary of Robert Harbin, Neal Elias, and Lillian Oppenheimer and is credited with creating some of the most original and innovative models at the time. In a world dominated by male designers and “flat” models, she was innovating 3d and color change designs and base complexity far beyond that being produced at the time.
Neal Elias United States Neal Elias had an origami creative period between 1951 and 1973 eventually 'burning' himself out on a series of 3D human busts. His work - especially those models where he used…
Shuzo Fujimoto Japan Shuzo Fujimoto (藤本修三 Fujimoto Shūzō; October 27th, 1922 – July 28th, 2015) was a Japanese origami creator whose main focus was geometric origami. He is considered one of the pioneers of origami tessellations and is probably best known for his recursive Hydrangea model.
Robert Harbin United Kingdom Robert Harbin was a magician who became an enthusiastic paper folder. He invented many original designs of his own but his most significant contribution to the development of recreational and creative paper folding was made through his books and television appearances. It is probably no exaggeration to say that he introduced more people to origami than any other paperfolder since Friedrich Froebel, particularly in Great Britain.
Max Hulme United Kingdom Max Hulme was a prominent figure in the origami community known for his innovative and detailed designs.
Eric Joisel France Éric Joisel (15 November 1956 – 10 October 2010) was a French origamist, considered to be one of the grandmasters of origami. He is credited with imbibing origami of liveness. According to his catalog of works (unpublished), he created more than 200 models, of which less than 20 designs were presented as diagrams. Joisel defined himself as an “origami sculptor”. In 1999, he was invited by origami grandmaster Akira Yoshizawa to his 88th Birthday Exposition at Matsura Ginza magazine in Tokyo, where only other four origami masters were allowed to show their models.
Eric Kenneway United Kingdom Summary Eric Kenneway (b. 1930, Islington, London; d. 15 May 1987, Leyton, London, aged 57) was an origami creator, author and translator. He was first attracted to origami as an activity for his…
Yoshihide Momotani Japan
Ligia Montoya Ligia Montoya (February 23, 1920 – April 18, 1967) was an Argentinian paper-folding artist, who played an important role in all aspects of the 'golden age' of the international origami movement from the 1950s, from which developed modern artistic origami—that is, innovative paper-folding exploring a variety of different approaches, rather than repeating limited traditional figures.
Meenakshi Mukerji United States Meenakshi Mukerji was introduced to modular origami in 1995. This mathematical and structural side of the art rekindled her passion for origami and soon she began designing and displaying her work on…
Francis Ow Singapore Francis Ow Mun Yin was born in Singapore on 14 May 1949 and died on June 29th, 2018.

His journey in Origami began as a pre-school child. He watched the TV programmes of Robert Harbin. It was through him and his book, "Paper Magic" that he learned about Origami. Later, he worked as an engineer for Singapore Telecoms where he repaired telecommunications hardware. He was a founder of the Singapore origami group in the early 1980s and held their first origami exhibition there in 1985. This exhibition attracted together several local folders who formed a tight-knit and supportive group. 
Vicente Palacios Spain Vicente Palacios Garrido; July 20, 1929 - April 4, 2026. He was a Spanish origamist considered a great promoter of origami in Spain and worldwide. He was one of the founding pillars of the Spanish Origami Association (AEP) and a member of several foreign associations, such as the BOS, CDO, and NOA. He disseminated the works of various creators, Spanish and foreign, as well as some of his own, through more than 13 publications. He was a pioneer in historical research into the origins of origami and the most emblematic model of origami in Spain, the "Pajarita" (paper bird). Honorary member of the CDO and Honorary President of the AEP, he attended various international conventions, showing in all of them the tradition of origami in Spain and its evolution over centuries, independent of Japanese and Eastern origami.
Samuel Randlett
Ron Resch United States Ron Resch (Ronald Dale Resch; 1939 – 24 November 2009) was an artist, computer scientist, and applied geometrist, known for his work involving folding paper, Origami Tessellations and 3D polyhedrons. In the Origami community he is regarded as a pioneering designer who explored the architectural potential of 3D tessellated structures in the 1960’s and 70’s. In addition to his art, he focused his professional and academic career on computer-aided design and computer graphics.
Fred Rohm United States FREDRIC G. ROHM, born in 1907, was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He was Chief Experimental Engineer for the Lycoming Division of the AVCO Corporation in Montoursville, Pennsylvania;…
Philip Shen Hong Kong SAR China Dr. Philip Shen was born in 1931, in Manila, the Philippines. In 1953, he went to study the philosophy of religion and theology. 
In 1963, he received his Ph.D. from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. He didn’t receive his diploma in person, as in 1962 he joined the Department of Philosophy and Religion of Chung-Chi College, Hong Kong. He taught there for 36 years, and also served as faculty dean and later as head of the college (1990-1994). Shen moved to the USA in the late `90s, where he lived in Boston. Later, he moved to Claremont, California, where he remained until he passed away from cancer in the summer of 2004. Shen was married to Sylvia, and they had two sons, Kish and Kairos. 
Lewis Simon United States SummaryLewis Simon (1910-1999?) of Long Beach and Los Angeles, California, was a highly regarded and enthusiastic American origami artist and teacher whose life was dedicated to sharing the art.…
Vicente Solorzano Sagredo Spain Vicente Solórzano Sagredo (24 July 1883 - 9 March 1970) was one of the pioneers of origami in the Spanish-speaking world. His books, published from the 40's of the last century, became a source of inspiration for later generations. He was one of the first to realize the mathematics of origami, inventing the term 'deltoid' to refer to the original element from which all the models were folded, a rhombus with angles multiples of 22.5º. In his fondness for coining new terms, he came up with the word 'papiroflexia', which was eventually added to the dictionary of the Spanish Language to refer to origami.
Frank van Kollem Netherlands Frank van Kollem (1949 - 1997) was a Dutch folder, considered to be one of the earlier folders of the technique called tessellations and corrugations. Most of his work is made from white paper and is very small. For him it was not unusual to start with a paper 15cm square, and divide it in 64th with all the diagonals before starting to fold a tessellation.
Thoki Yenn Denmark Thoki Yenn was a multifaceted artist known for his contributions to both the fields of origami and magic.
Akira Yoshizawa Japan Akira Yoshizawa (吉澤 章 Yoshizawa Akira; 14 March 1911 – 14 March 2005) was a Japanese origamist, considered to be the grandmaster of origami. He is credited with raising origami from a craft to a living art.