Alice Gray

Alice E. Gray (June 7, 1914 – April 27, 1994) was an American entomologist and origamist who was known as the "Bug Lady" of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Early life and education

Origami Christmas tree at the Museum of Natural History, a tradition Gray started

Gray was born on June 7, 1914 to an engineer father and farmer mother.[1] She was interested by insects as a child. Her mother, when asked by Alice to keep insects she had caught, agreed under the condition that Alice learn what they ate by dinnertime, leading her to become an amateur entomologist at a young age.[1] While still in high school she knew she wanted to work at the American Museum of Natural History, and called its Insects and Spiders Department to ask about employment. Based on the advice she received from then-chairman, Frank E. Lutz, she applied to and attended Cornell University, studying biology and entomology and training in scientific illustration.[1]

Entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History

Upon graduating from Cornell in 1937, she started work with the museum and remained there until she retired.[1][2]

She proved to be a skilled illustrator, modeler, and writer, and engaged in a range of public relations and communications activities. She wrote for museum publications, constructed many of the department's displays, built large models, and illustrated entomology handouts still used as of 2016.[1][2]

One of her projects was the creation of large-scale models of insects that she called "model monsters".[3] She explained her modeling process and purpose in a lengthy article in Mechanix Illustrated in 1945.[3] The first such model she created took six months to produce, taking pains to ensure its accuracy.[3] "A well-made model is both a text and treasure... Of the hundreds of people who daily pass these models in the museum, many never see them. Others take one glance and gulp and run. There are some, however, who look, see and remember that it is for them that all museum modelling is done."[3] She cited a flea as one example of her work: "A flea made large enough to serve six at dinner by the lens of the microscope, stands revealed as most admirably streamlined and thus enabled to slip unimpeded between hairs."[3]

As Scientific Assistant in the Department of Entomology, Gray was the primary educator and communicator on the subject of insects. In addition to working inside the museum, she brought insects and spiders out to New York public schools, presenting in classrooms and eventually earning the nickname "Bug Lady" through her outreach efforts.[2][4] She appeared with her insects on television in the 1960s and 1970s, including an episode of The Tonight Show.[4]

Origami

Gray's first encounter with origami was when she purchased a book on the subject based on a picture of a cicada on the cover.[1] She took to it as a hobby, but her interest deepened after meeting Lillian Oppenheimer in the 1960s. Oppenheimer is credited with popularizing origami in the United States, and Gray saw in her collection an art and craft that could be taken seriously.[1] Gray offered to taxonomize and organize the collection, in a project that soon after was the cover story of the Origamian.[1] In 1964, when both the editor and art director of that magazine left their positions, Gray filled in for both, first as a temporary measure and later on a permanent basis.[1]

In 1978 she co-founded, with Oppenheimer and Michael Shall, the non-profit Friends of the Origami Center in New York.[5] She gained international recognition for her work developing models, writing books, and generally supporting the paperfolding community.[2] Gray secured an office for the society inside the museum which it continues to occupy as of 2016. Its name changed to Origami USA when Oppenheimer died in 1992, and it remains the largest origami organization in the United States.[6][7]

Folding paper to create toys and models of insects also became part of her work at the museum.[2] She introduced the idea of using her origami insects to decorate a Christmas tree in the museum. In subsequent years, it became popular to adorn the tree with not just insects but origami representations of many areas of the museum. When it caught the attention of the Trustee Exhibition Committee, the AMNH Holiday Origami Tree became an annual tradition, still active as of 2016.[8][2]

When Japan Publications looked to create a beginners' origami book for American schoolchildren, it recruited Gray to work with well-known Japanese artist Kunihiko Kasahara on what would become The Magic of Origami, released in 1977 with Oppenheimer credited as photographer.[9]

An origami butterfly named "The Alice" was dedicated to Gray by artist Michael LaFosse in 1992.[10][11]

Later life

The Alice, an origami butterfly design named after Gray

Gray retired from the museum in 1980, after 43 years, but remained involved as a volunteer.[2] The next year, she was given the title "scientific assistant emeritus".[4] Among other activities, she continued to help with public communications and participated in the creation of origami insects for the museum's Christmas tree.[2][4] She also continued to be active in origami communities, serving as the president of the organization she helped to found, the Friends of the Origami Center of America, from 1985–1989.[4] She died in Norwalk, Connecticut, on 27 April 1994.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Alice Gray – Entomologist and Paperfolder". British Origami. British Origami Society. October 1994.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Women in Museum History: Alice Gray". AMNH News & Blogs. American Museum of Natural History. 31 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Alice Gray Finds Insects Fascinating". Schenectady Gazette. 11 August 1945.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Alice E. Gray, 79". Hartford Courant. 1 May 1994.
  5. ↑ Robinson, Nick (2004). The Origami Bible. North Light Books. p. 19. ISBN 1-58180-517-9.
  6. ↑ "About OrigamiUSA". OrigamiUSA.
  7. ↑ Robinson, Nick (2004). The Origami Bible. North Light Books. p. 19. ISBN 1-58180-517-9.
  8. ↑ Branch, Jessica (19 May 2016). "Secrets of the American Museum of Natural History". NewYork.com.
  9. ↑ Lister, David (3 April 2005). "A Legacy of Alice Gray". British Origami Society.
  10. ↑ LaFosse, Michael; Alexander, Richard (2014). Michael LaFosse's Origami Butterflies: Elegant Designs from a Master Folder. Tuttle Publishing. pp. 34–38. ISBN 978-1-4629-1182-0.
  11. ↑ LaFosse, Michael; Alexander, Richard; Mudarri, Greg (2014). Origami Butterflies. Tuttle Publishing. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-1-4629-1580-4.

External links

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